Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the decision by the International Arbitration Tribunal should shame "those who caused so much harm to our country."

The concession agreement over the hospitals deal had been annulled by the Maltese courts in February 2023 in a judgement that mentioned fraud, following a case filed by Adrian Delia who was the PN Leader at the time. A court of appeal had confirmed the decision later that year.

The lawful termination of the government's contract with Steward Health Care was confirmed by an arbitration tribunal on Monday, the government said. But the government also states that the arbitration decision awards no damages to either side.

In a statement, Muscat said that the tribunal "composed by truly world recognized international experts, states that not only were €400 million not stolen in the hospital concession, but the Government still has to pay the service provider almost another €5 million."

"This decision should shame those who caused so much harm to our country, including those institutions that were gullible enough to swallow this narrative without the slightest evidence and without seeking expert advice, relying only on shouting and commotion in the most amateurish way. If there had been fraud, the International Tribunal would not have decided that the service provider was still owed money."

"I am bound by the Court not to comment on the case against me, in which I am accused of supposedly taking money from these "stolen" funds, a lie that the International Tribunal, which does not look at faces and has no political agenda, has now thrown out. This is only the beginning, not the end, in the pursuit of truth."