Facts for fiends

Fact: the auditor general, in his report entitled ‘An audit of matters relating to the concession awarded to Vitals Global Healthcare by Government’, dated May 2023, referred to an “unorthodox dynamic… between the Prime Minister and the Minister for Tourism, to the detriment of the Minister for Health” that created a “weakness leveraged by the Stewart Health Care (SHC). The most evident exploitation was that secured by the SHC in terms of (the) government’s liability to pay €100,000,000 and the lender’s debt to the concessionaire in case of court-declared nullity of the concession agreements, irrespective of the defaulting party”.

The auditor general stated that the total cost incurred by the government with respect to the hospitals, between June 2016 and the end of 2021, was €456,000,000. The report further concluded that, aside from the completion of the Barts Medical School and some other pockets of progress, “all other milestones were not achieved by Steward Health Care”.

Fact: on February 24, 2023, Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale annulled the hospitals deal, highlighting the “fraudulent and, possibly, criminal, behaviour by Steward… as well as Vitals… and its investors”. The court says the fraudulent behaviour “persisted not only prior but also throughout the concession”.

Fact: on October 23, 2023, the Constitutional Court dismissed an appeal lodged by Steward Health Care, stating that, rather than deception on one part and ingenuity of the other, as the first court believed, there was a collusion bet­ween the appellants and high government officials or agencies.

Fact: on May 6, 2024, 19 persons, including former prime minister Joseph Muscat, were named in criminal charges concerning the scandal-racked deal to privatise three state hospitals.

Fact: on May 7, 2024, ex-health minister Chris Fearne, top government officials and a host of private individuals were charged in court in connection with the hospitals deal.

Fact: on May 11, 2024, Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. The company is being investigated by the US Senate, which is looking into the financial collapse of SHC, “a firm that generated huge fortunes for investors and its CEO but left patients in dangerous conditions”.

Fact: on September 18, 2025, the former chief executive of SHC (Malta), Armin Ernst, appeared before Magistrate Rachel Montebello, facing accusations including  of money laundering, conspiracy, bribery, trading in influence and misappropriation in both his personal capacity and as a representative of Steward-related companies.

These are not opinions of the Nationalist Party. These are undisputed facts, substantiated by public documents that back the decisions reached by our esteemed institutions. What do these facts tell us? They prove that the Labour governments, led by Muscat and Robert Abela, were guilty of colluding with Vitals and SHC in a deal to defraud the Maltese taxpayer.

In this regard, it is telling to remember what the Court of Appeal said in its judgment: “It is not known why those whose duty it was to protect the national interest failed to protect those interests and, instead, had the interests of the appellant companies at heart, so much so that, in their reply to the sworn application, the other defendants [the government] stood up for the appellant companies and it was only when this appeal was filed that they had started to defend the judgment which had found for the plaintiff”.

This is nothing but a continuation of a nefarious deal that needs to be perpetuated to save Joseph Muscat’s hide- Adrian Delia

The logical step following these judgments would have been for the government to take decisive action to recover taxpayers’ money that was given to Vitals and, later, to SHC and for which we received nothing in return.

Instead, these two parties, the Maltese government and SHC, having been found guilty of fraudulent collusion, agreed bet­ween themselves to seek arbitration behind closed doors in a foreign jurisdiction. Despite repeated requests from the opposition, the media and civil society, the government refused to disclose the amounts of damages it was seeking, if at all, in these proceedings. The colluders colluded again. And, just like the secret meetings held before the hospitals’ tender was issued, these meetings were held behind closed doors, without public scrutiny.

Last Monday, the prime minister, like Neville Chamberlain declaring ‘Peace in our lifetime’, declared that the arbitration was closed and that Malta won. Won what? Won how?

He stated, with inexplicable elation, that the arbitration concluded that SHC was not overpaid but, in fact, underpaid. Malta still owes them €5 million, in addition to the €900 million that we already paid them.

What a great victory! Open the champagne bottles, ring the church bells, let us all rejoice!

This is nothing but a continuation of a nefarious deal that needs to be perpetuated to save Muscat’s hide.

Abela is caught between choosing to act in the public interest or to act in the interest of SHC’s former consultant, Muscat. After last Monday’s shenanigans, there can be no doubt that Abela chose to protect Muscat.

Abela claimed that Malta won and the PN and I lost. The sad truth is that, last Monday, Malta lost. On Monday, the Maltese taxpayer lost. On Monday, justice lost. On Monday, Abela brought shame on his office and desecrated the office of the auditor general and our courts.

Meanwhile, St Luke’s Hospital remains a derelict building, Karen Grech Rehabilitation Hospital is still without the promised investment and the promised new hospital in Gozo remains a dream –a dream that we have already paid for.

I challenge the prime minister to debate  the ICC documents in Parliament. I challenge him to come clean on this matter. He has on several occasions undermined the proceedings against the officials charged in this biggest heist by siding with the accused. Last Monday, he took another decisive step to ensure that justice is not served. 

Adrian Delia is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on finance.

This article was written before the government published the ICC report.