An associate of former prime minister Joseph Muscat has been ordered by a magistrate to repay debts linked to a company at the centre of kickback and corruption claims in the hospitals deal.

Wasay Bhatti’s Maltese company, Accutor Limited was taken to court over its failure to settle €75,000 in unpaid rent, utility bills and office maintenance.

Bhatti hired Muscat as his consultant via a Swiss company in January 2020 as part of a € 15,000-per-month agreement suspected to be cover for kickbacks in the government’s Vitals/Steward Health Care deal. Bhatti and Muscat deny wrongdoing.

Accutor Limited rented a Ta’ Xbiex office from Quantum Properties, an offshoot of the Vassallo Builders Group, in 2019.

Although Accutor Limited entered into an eight-year rental contract, the company notified Quantum Properties in June 2021 that it wanted to terminate the agreement.

The keys for the property were returned the following month.

However, Bhatti failed to settle rent and utility dues dating back to October 2020, leading Quantum Properties to take Accutor Limited to court.

According to the rent regulation board’s decision, Accutor Limited failed to settle its debts with Quantum Properties prior to the case being opened, despite multiple reminders.

Wasay Bhatti's Maltese company has failed to settle €75,000 in unpaid rent.

After the case was opened, Accutor Limited made a €30,000 payment to Quantum Properties but the remaining €45,000 balance remained outstanding.

Bhatti also failed to appear before the board and did not present any evidence during proceedings, despite Accutor Limited being notified about the case against it.

Times of Malta reported last year how Accutor Limited is also breaching company law by failing to present audited accounts.

Regus, a business address provider in Malta, has further accused Accutor Limited Malta of ignoring its demands to stop listing its St Julian’s building as the company’s registered address.

Accutor’ Limited’s address was shifted from Ta’ Xbiex to St Julian’s in 2021.

An investigation by Times of Malta, Shift News and OCCRP revealed how a Swiss company owned by Bhatti – Accutor Consulting – used to be named VGH Europe.

Accutor Consulting paid Muscat €30,000 in 2020 as part of a consultancy deal with the ex-prime minister.  A further two payments to Muscat, totalling €30,000, came from another of Bhatti’s companies, Spring X Media.

Steward Health Care paid €5.9 million to various Swiss companies run by Bhatti.

A court terminated the government’s deal with Steward Health Care earlier this year on fraud grounds.

Muscat is a suspect in a criminal inquiry into the deal. His home and office were searched in January 2022 in connection with the Accutor payments.

When contacted, Bhatti claimed not to have been aware of the court case. 

"As a company, we strive to maintain transparency and integrity in all our business dealings. We were not aware of how companies can take any advantage with technicalities to win cases.

"Nonetheless, we take our financial responsibilities seriously and make every effort to meet our obligations promptly. We have a strong track record of maintaining positive relationships with our partners and suppliers."