Swiss firm that engaged Muscat had profit-sharing agreement with Steward on Malta hospitals deal

A Swiss firm that employed Joseph Muscat after his resignation as Prime Minister had a secret agreement to receive 30% of Steward Health Care's dividends from the fraudulent hospitals deal.

On Monday, the Times of Malta in collaboration with the OCCRP and the Daphne Foundation reported on the secret deal, which had only been briefly mentioned in the Vitals inquiry. The deal reportedly granted the Swiss-based Accutor Consulting rights to a portion of Steward Health Care’s profits through dividends and earnings from its operations in Malta.

Armin Ernst, ex-CEO of Steward Malta, signed the agreement with Accutor Consulting in April 2019, a year after Steward took over the hospitals.

The profits were reportedly intended for Shaukat Ali.

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The emails reveal that due to significant debts, Steward Malta did not pay any dividends before the hospital concession was annulled by court. However, between 2018 and 2020, Steward Malta paid over €7 million to Accutor Consulting for various services, including "political consultants.”

Nine months after the secret profit-sharing agreement was finalised, Muscat was engaged as a consultant by Bhatti, receiving a €15,000 monthly fee.

Muscat received four payments totaling €60,000, with two payments coming directly from Accutor Consulting, the same firm involved in the profit-sharing deal. However, Muscat has denied any connection between the consultancy work and the Malta hospitals deal, insisting that his contract was unrelated to the agreement.

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In addition to the dividend rights, the profit-sharing agreement also stipulated that Accutor Consulting would receive 30% of the equity value if Steward Malta were sold.