A forensic accountant who oversaw the Vitals inquiry is refusing to testify in Malta out of fear for his safety.

In an affidavit submitted in court this week, financial crime expert Jeremy Harbinson said the experiences and insights he has gained over the past seven years “means that I fear for my safety, and I have decided that I will never return to Malta.”

Harbinson, who has since retired, claimed the 1,200-page report into corruption in the hospitals deal was never meant to be used directly as a basis for prosecutions.

“Our report made no mention of criminal charges or freezing orders, and I had no input into these,” Harbinson said. 

Harbinson said a disclaimer on the report made it clear that it was only meant to be used by the inquiring magistrate and not shared with third parties without prior permission.

He added: “the report to the inquiry was of the highest quality and I stand over the findings and opinions set out in it”.

The report, which Justice Minister Jonathan Attard claimed cost over €10 million, was used by the Attorney General and police as the sole basis for prosecuting ex-prime minister Joseph Muscat and other former top officials on corruption charges.

These charges were issued upon the recommendation of inquiring magistrate Gabriella Vella.

Harbinson's firm, the UK-based Harbinson Forensics, has since been wound down. The firm's expertise was also used in other major local inquiries involving offshore firm Egrant and alleged corruption involving the Electrogas power station. 

Lawyers representing defendants in the case have insisted on cross-examining Harbinson in person. He has previously informed the court that he could not travel to Malta as his wife is unwell. 

Harbinson: I would have advised individual reports 

In his affidavit, Harbinson said had he been consulted, he would have recommended that further separate, tightly focused reports be compiled for each person to be charged rather than attempting to use “the single massive inquiry report for purposes that it was not designed for”.

“This is because the massive inquiry report details findings on hundreds of individuals and companies and cannot be testified to by any single individuals,” Harbinson said.

Last month, prosecutors asked the court to split a single case against more than a dozen people charged with crimes as a result of the report, into six separate ones.

A court agreed to split the cases against former ministers Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna, various former civil servants, lawyers and others.

Harbinson: Experts should be paid to testify 

Harbinson said he oversaw a team of 30 experts who worked on the inquiry. He said his own role did not involve acquiring or searching through data or analysing documents.

Harbinson intimated that the other experts who worked on the report should not be expected to testify without receiving further payment.

He said from his “long experience” of criminal investigations in the UK, he would have expected that if criminal proceedings were to result from the inquiry, the professional experts would be consulted by police and prosecutors and this work would be the subject of a separate commercial contract.

“I expected that any such contract would seek to involve members of the expert team who acted in the inquiry, and I expected that they would negotiate mutually acceptable terms for any such new contracts.”

Harbinson ruled out involvement in any such contract “due to my retirement”.

He added that following his retirement, he had surrendered his licence to act as an accountant and wound up Harbinson Forensics Limited.

“I surrendered my license and cannot get it back, so I understand that, under UK law, I am not allowed to carry out such work”.

Harbinson also cited concerns over a medical condition his wife is suffering from.

He said the “pressure and stress” caused by escalating demands from Malta for him “prolonged involvement in multiple trials” and the disruption of their retirement plans have affected both his wife’s medical condition and both their mental health.