Leaked documents reveal Steward Health Care’s alleged bribery fund's government ties

Leaked documents suggest payments into a €1 million bribery fund were tied to Steward Health Care's negotiations with the Maltese government for significant financial increases. 

Internal records reveal the political fund was established in 2019 through an agreement between Steward Malta director Armin Ernst and Wasay Bhatti, owner of the Swiss firm Accutor. Payments into the fund were reportedly contingent on securing a 9% annual budget increase, which could have doubled Steward’s income over seven years.  

According to a Times of Malta report on Sunday, the fund appears central to allegations that Steward used Accutor to channel kickbacks to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi, and former chief of staff Keith Schembri. 

The alleged arrangement coincided with Mizzi signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in August 2019, committing the government to a 9% yearly budget hike and improved financial terms for Steward’s fraudulent hospitals concession. 

Health ministry officials expressed concern that the increases would drastically inflate public spending without delivering additional healthcare services.  

Steward agreed to pay Accutor €100,000 monthly for consultancy services aimed at securing government concessions. Accutor was also promised a 30% share of Steward’s profits from the three hospitals linked to the concession. 

Investigators suspect the fund was designed to facilitate a plan requiring cabinet approval, including transferring Barts Medical School to a US real estate company.  

READ ALSO: Labour MOU for Steward allowed Barts campus to be hived off to property vehicle

After Muscat’s resignation in late 2019, plans to finalise Steward’s financial package stalled. By January 2020, Ernst considered terminating the fund due to political uncertainty, with Bhatti pushing to keep the arrangement alive, while Muscat was soon hired as an Accutor consultant for €15,000 monthly.  

Muscat was reportedly present in a Steward meeting with the government in early 2020 to revive negotiations but insisted his role was solely to make introductions. Payments into the fund ceased two months later, and talks on the financial package collapsed in 2021 amid opposition from then-health minister Chris Fearne and other officials. 

Reacting to the story on behalf of Muscat, his lawyer Charlon Gouder stated, "As you are aware, Dr. Muscat is not allowed by Court Decree to make any statements on the case. Furthermore, he does not have access to the documents you refer to and cannot ascertain the interpretation you are giving. We can only say that your questions give away the fact that you are once again being selective and partial in what you quote. Nevertheless, if anything, what you say proves that Steward did NOT get what you allege they paid for. This is despite the fact that you always claim that as Prime Minister, Dr. Muscat had some sort of absolute discretion."