‘My daughter and I were collateral damage’ in attempted Steward frame-up of Chris Fearne – Carmen Ciantar

Carmen Ciantar has spoken of the “devastating” impact a fabricated bribery story has had on her family following media revelations that Steward Health Care financed the “frame-up”.

Ciantar, who was a political aide to former minister Chris Fearne and CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services, said on Facebook she has asked the police to investigate the matter. Her request follows that of Fearne, who also asked the police to investigate those who created and financed the fake story following media revelations this week that Steward Health Care was behind the attempt.

READ ALSO: Steward hired private intelligence firms to target Minister Chris Fearne and critics

The American company had taken over the hospitals concession from Vitals Global healthcare in 2018 but the contract was annulled by the courts last year.

The latest developments come after a journalistic collaboration between OCCRP, The Boston Globe, Times of Malta and the Daphne Foundation, uncovered a plot peddled by senior officials of Steward Health Care to fabricate dirt on Fearne.

Fearne, who was health minister, was perceived by Steward as putting spokes in their wheels.

Information obtained by journalists showed how Steward’s Malta subsidiary was billed to the tune of €6 million by private investigation firms that concocted a fake bribery story involving Fearne and Ciantar with the intention of planting it in the media. When none of the mainstream and reputable media played ball, the stories surfaced in obscure news sites in Pakistan and Ukraine in the summer of last year.

READ ALSO: Chris Fearne takes Steward frame-up allegations to the police

Ciantar had suspended herself from the post of CEO at FMS and reported the matter to the Maltese police and asked to be heard by the magistrate who was probing the hospitals concession. She was later cleared of any wrongdoing when the police ascertained themselves that the story was fake.

In her Facebook message today, Ciantar says the impact on her life and that of her daughter’s was “devastating, both professionally and personally”.

“The painfully frustrating part was that I had no means of redress. The Pakistani editor of the website running this fake story could not be traced by my legal team and other experts. Neither could we get to who financed this evil plot,” Ciantar says.

She goes on to describe the people behind the plot as “dark forces” who wanted to carry out a “political frame up” against Chris Fearne. “My daughter and I were collateral damage,” she says.
“Given that I was in a public post, this fake story created trust issues, especially with stakeholders, government colleagues and members of staff. Equally my daughter, a dentist by profession, lost a number of clients. Thankfully, our name was fully cleared pretty quickly by the police and the magistrate and so trust was restored, at least with those of good will and who distinguish fact from fiction,” Ciantar says.

She adds that her family “suffered tremendously” during the ordeal.
“Yesterday, I went to the Police Commissioner for a second time. This time I will be making a different request. That this was a frame up is a fact. Now we need to know who perpetrated it and who financed it. Quite simply, who are the dark forces who did all this, to me and my daughter, to FMS, to the ministry and to this country?”

Ciantar says that once these questions are answered, she will have no hesitation to explore lawsuits for damages.

READ ALSO: Cabinet reiterates faith in Chris Fearne, blasts PN for partisan stance