‘Well done, Adrian’: Malta reacts to damning hospitals ruling

In a landmark victory for former opposition leader Adrian Delia, the court on Friday annulled all contracts awarded to Vitals and Steward in a damning ruling suggesting 'fraudulent intent'.

The court has nullified all contracts awarded to Vitals and Steward, and ordered all property to be returned to government.

Reacting to the decision, Delia said “Malta and justice won”. “The fight against corruption never stops and you must never give up,” Delia said as he thanks everyone who supported him throughout the court saga outside court.

In a statement, the government said it would be analysing the judgment before taking any decisions.

The Nationalist leader Bernard Grech thanked Delia for opening the case. “If it wasn’t for the Opposition, the public would still be robbed of hundreds of millions of moneys.”

He added that the Opposition will make sure that government follows the court’s ruling and ensure that those who abused of their position face justice. “Whoever does not fight corruption, is himself corrupt.”

Anti-corruption NGO Repubblika insisted Prime Minister Robert Abela must ensure that whoever was responsible for this abuse is charged in court and brought to answer for their actions.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shifted responsibility onto cabinet, saying he acted in the interest of the people.

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has meanwhile called for the immediate arraignment of former prime minister Joseph Muscat and former minister Konrad Mizzi. He added that an international arrest warrant should be issued against Ram Tumuluri and Armin Ernst.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola dubbed the sentence a win for the Maltese and Gozitan people. “The decision shows that the contracts were not in the interest of health workers and neither patients.”

Former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi congratulated Delia and said that the court sentence confirms what the Opposition had always said on the deal – that there was criminal conspiracy and criminal association committed by Konrad Mizzi, Joseph Muscat and Chris Cardona.