Zookeeper’s company ‘turned’ medical importer during COVID-19 ventilator rush

Zookeeper Anton Cutajar has refused to explain how his company, with no previous experience in the medical field, was awarded a €2 million direct order for ventilators used for the coronavirus effort in June 2020.  

Princling Holdings, in which Cutajar has a majority shareholding, was awarded a direct order of €2,035,000 for the supply of 50 ITU ventilators, according to the Government Gazette [PDF].  

From clarification sought from the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit, the company only delivered five units for a total of €308,970.  

The direct order was awarded on 4 June for ventilators required in the new ITU areas at Mater Dei Hospital. 

Documents obtained by MaltaToday show that changes to Princling’s memorandum and articles of association were received by the Malta Business Registry on 2 April. 

But owner Anton Cutajar would not say what brand of ventilators his company had procured and whether the firm could provide the necessary maintenance and spare parts for the medical equipment. 

“What difference does it make to you? Does a hotel owner have to know how to cook? No, he employs a chef to cook,” Cutajar told MaltaToday when contacted. 

Adopting a defensive attitude, Cutajar asked this newspaper to get its information from the government. “You have no idea what we passed through to get these ventilators. As if the government is going to accept ventilators without proper certification from doctors,” he added. 

However, Cutajar denied having received €2 million from the direct order despite what the Government Gazette said. “We only got five ventilators despite being able to supply 50 because there was no need for the rest. We did not get paid €2 million,” he insisted. 

Cutajar’s Princling Holdings was also awarded another direct order on 16 September which still has not featured on the government gazette, which are consumables and accessories for the ITU ventilators at €50,250. 

Cutajar owns the Noah’s Ark zoo in Siġġiewi and is currently seeking planning regularisation for structures that were built illegally. Originally, the zoo was built illegally but sanctioned by the Planning Authority a few years ago. 

The award of the contract to Princling Holdings – which falls under the CPSU order 1062/2022 – and two other direct orders for ventilators issued to Fieldsports Ltd, a company owned by arms dealer James Fenech, raised eyebrows among established industry players. 

“When the health department buys medical equipment it also seeks assurances on the availability of spare parts, and the right technical personnel to carry out maintenance or provide training. It is strange how these ITU ventilators were sourced from two companies with no previous experience in the medical field,” an industry source told this newspaper. 

The CPSU awarded a number of direct orders to different companies for the supply of ventilators when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.

The government was rushing to make more ITU beds and ventilators available as it increased the level of preparedness. 

From arms to ventilators 

Fieldsports were awarded two direct orders each worth €475,000 for the total supply of 26 ventilators for Mater Dei Hospital, awarded by the CPSU on 21 and 25 March this year. The batch was part of the same call, 1062/2020, that was later used for the Princling Holding delivery. 

But in comments to MaltaToday, Fenech insisted that he only delivered 13 Siemens units – one of the first batches paraded by health minister Chris Fearne at the start of the pandemic. The CPSU confirmed that the cost was €591,298. 

“Various of my companies have had previous experience in procuring some form of medical equipment previously, so the CPSU was already aware of my business,” Fenech told MaltaToday when challenged over the apparent lack of experience in supplying the ventilators. 

“It so happened that I was asked to tap into my sources for ventilators at a time when there was a panicked rush by the health authorities to obtain ventilators. My Turkish contact told me that they had 13 ventilators stuck at a freeport in Turkey, so – after much trouble – I managed to get them out and deliver them to the CPSU.” 

Asked whether they had any commercial relationship between themselves, both Cutajar and Fenech denied any link. “No, I don’t even know who he is,” Cutajar said when asked whether any commercial link existed between his company and Fieldsports. 

Fenech too denied the connection. 

The arms dealer was charged in a Maltese court for breaching EU sanctions on Libya after his company leased two boats to a group of mercenaries involved in a helicopter-gunship delivery for Libyan renegade Khalifa Haftar. Fenech has denied the charges in court. 

Asked whether this case had any effect on his public procurement contracts, Fenech at first said that he “felt as is he were blacklisted” – but he clarified that he was not officially precluded from procurement. 

Negotiated procedure 

The CPSU told MaltaToday that the 1062/2020 negotiated procedure for the ITU ventilator units – a sort of emergency procurement at times employed when there is a lack of competition – was awarded during March and June through direct negotiations. 

The CPSU said that “due to the restricted amount of ventilators on the international market” it took on direct negotiations to ensure that Malta would be supplied with enough ventilators. 

“To avoid over-commitment and overstock, there were instances where orders which were not confirmed were cancelled,” the CPSU said, explaining the variations on the direct orders. 

Other ventilators were also sourced from other suppliers. 

“It is pertinent to note that at the start of the pandemic there was a global scarcity of ventilators and massive competition on a global scale. Malta managed to source the necessary ventilators such that at no time were we unable to treat patients who required assisted ventilation – this was not the case in a number of other hospitals in other parts of the world,” the CPSU told MaltaToday in a comment sought from the health ministry.