Fearne accepts Carmen Ciantar suspension, urges police to investigate bribery allegations

Updated at 12:11pm with Carmen Ciantar's letter to Police Commissioner

Health Minister Chris Fearne has urged police and authorities to investigate bribery allegations concerning the CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services first revealed in a Pakistani newspaper.

In a statement on Thursday, the Health Ministry said that this was the first time that these allegations were brought to the attention of the minister and other officials.

“Despite the fact that the alleged events mentioned in these articles cite dates that happened before Ciantar's employment with the Foundation for Medical Services, and despite the fact that she denied the allegations, the Deputy Prime Minister still felt the need to immediately accept her suspension from the position of Chief Executive Officer of the FMS.”

Carmen Ciantar, who heads the Foundation for Medical Services, tendered her suspension from the post on Wednesday evening following bribery claims in a Pakistani news portal.

Daily Pakistan reported on Wednesday that Ciantar received several payments totalling €443,500 from Gozo International Medicare Ltd between October 2015 and February 2016.

The news portal claimed that the information came from a leaked tranche of banking documents, which indicated there were at least 15 invoices submitted to Gozo International Medicare by Ciantar.

She has since written to the Police Commissioner asking him to investigate her. “I assure you that I’m available to give you my full and unconditional cooperation and so that the truth will come out”.

The news report also alleged that the money was paid from the company’s account at the Dubai-headquartered Emirates NBD Bank. The portal claimed that the company then transferred €750,000 as a “loan repayment” into an account at Bordier & Cie Geneva, a Swiss private bank, registered to a Panamanian entity, Glotal Finance Inc., which purportedly referenced Ciantar.

In comments to MaltaToday, Ciantar flatly refuted the allegations. “The allegation is totally and absolutely untrue. I will definitely reserve all my rights at law to defend my integrity and I will proceed with all measures available at law to defend my reputation and integrity against anyone who publicizes it.”

The Nationalist Party has insisted that Fearne must answer to these allegations. "As the days go by, more scandals are coming out, each one bigger than the other."

The party also said that the Police Commissioner must investigate all accusations related to the hospitals privatisation deal awarded to VGH and later Steward Health Care.