Public must be told Vitals inquiry conclusions, Repubblika says

The Maltese public have a right to know what conclusions were reached by the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals hospital deal, rule of law NGO Repubblika said in its reaction to the news that the inquiry has been completed.

Addressing a press conference on the steps of the courts in Valletta, Robert Aquilina - who had filed the court application which resulted in the hospitals inquiry, together with lawyer Jason Azzopardi - said that although he did not know what they were, the people should be informed of the inquiry’s findings, regardless.

“We are not asking that only we, who asked for the inquiry, should know, but that all the people should know what this inquiry contains, because if crimes have been discovered, then everyone is a victim of these crimes,” Aqulina said.

“Considering the seriousness of the crimes and the persons involved, it is in the public interest that the findings of this inquiry are published.”

It had been Repubblika who, in May 2019, had filed a sworn application before the Duty Magistrate, requesting a magisterial inquiry into the privatisation of three Maltese hospitals.

“In our application - 153 pages long - we said and explained how Ministers Konrad Mizzi, Chris Cardona, the former Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and Edward Scicluna had given an unfair and illegal advantage to the owners of a private company in order to be chosen - as actually happened - to enter into contracts worth more than two billion Euros, for the management of three hospitals for the people of Malta and Gozo.

"This company was chosen even though it had absolutely no experience in the medical field."

Repubblika had asked the inquiring magistrate to establish whether there was evidence of fraud, money laundering, bribery, criminal conspiracy, membership in a criminal organisation, financing of a criminal organisation, trading in influence and falsification of documents intended for a public authority.

“They tried to stop it from the beginning,” Aquilina said. “The ministers tried to stop it, and Joseph Muscat abusively assisted them, giving them access to documents which they had no right to.”

Aquilina said that on behalf of Repubblika he had filed a report against Muscat with the Financial Crimes Investigation Department in November 2021, after the story of Muscat having received “tens of thousands of euros” from the deal through a company in Switzerland that had received millions of euros as a result of the sale of the three hospitals. 

“We had said that it stank of money laundering.”

He recalled how, in January 2022, the Police had searched Muscat’s house, on the orders of the inquiring magistrate.

“Joseph Muscat filed a lawsuit, he summoned me as a witness, then when he saw that this wasn’t working out as planned, he gave it up and filed a case before another judge. 

“Today we found out that those spokes in the wheels of justice have failed and that the inquiry requested by Repubblica in 2019 has been concluded.”

“We want the conclusions of the inquiry - whatever they are - to be published and carried out immediately. Today we have started to get there.”