Joseph Muscat wiped phone amid festive season ‘banter’ about police seizure

Joseph Muscat’s iPhone was wiped of data amid “rumours, banter and conversation” during the festive season about a potential police search on his home. 

Questions have swirled about what tipped off the ex-prime minister to reset his phone on December 28, 2021, three weeks before a police search of his home on January 19 as part of a magisterial inquiry into the Vitals hospitals deal.

Muscat himself has admitted he was only “half surprised” by the search, after lawyer Jason Azzopardi had hinted about it on social media three days before the police knocked on his door.

The timing of the phone’s erasure however indicates Muscat was made aware of police plans for the search weeks prior to Azzopardi’s social media post.

Financial investigators at Joseph Muscat's Burmarrad home. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Replying to questions about the timeline of events, Muscat’s lawyers said “rumours” about the planned search had already started to swirl during the December holiday season.

“By court decree, our client cannot comment on anything relating to the proceedings.

“May we remind you that in previous comments, Dr Muscat had referred not only to public comments [about the search] but also to persistent rumours, banter and conversations taking place in a number of public places weeks in advance (especially during the festive period) and about which he had been informed.

“This matches exactly what our client said in many public statements he made and not only the one you mention [about Azzopardi’s Facebook post]. Any other interpretation would be totally incorrect and based on false premises,” Muscat’s lawyer said.

Rule of law NGO Repubblika alleged this week that the ex-prime minister benefitted from leaks that “probably” came from within the police force, which allowed him time to “erase evidence”.

Muscat ran Google searches on how to erase data

Apart from erasing his phone’s data, Muscat also ran Google searches on how to erase iPhone data and how to delete backups of WhatsApp chats, court expert Keith Cutajar told a court last week.

Courts records show inquiring magistrate Gabriella Vella only officially authorised the search on January 15, 2022.

However, discussions with the police about coordinating the search on Muscat’s Burmarrad home and Pietà office are understood to have taken place in the weeks prior to the official order.

The ex-prime minister and other former officials face charges of money laundering, corruption, and bribery in connection with the fraudulent hospitals’ deal.

Michelle Muscat on the day of the police search. Her phone was also seized. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

All defendants are pleading not guilty.

Muscat and his wife Michelle had refused to give investigators their phone password during the police search.

The phones were initially sent to the US to try to be unlocked by the Homeland Security Investigations Department.

Muscat's phone unlocked by Maltese expert

Muscat’s phone was eventually unlocked by a Maltese expert, who testified about his findings this week.

Data wiping on Muscat’s phone had to be started by a user who has access to the username, password and iCloud access, the expert said.

Using data mining and recovery software, the expert managed to extract 35GB of data from the 128GB iPhone. This is the maximum amount which can be extracted by the software used.

The expert explained that a lot of data found in the report relates to correspondence sent from Muscat’s phone to third parties. Such data is hardcoded on the chip and can be retrieved through data recovery processes. Incoming data, information received by Muscat’s phone, is cached data and is not saved on the microchip.

Muscat's mobile: a timeline of events

November 7, 2021 – Times of Malta reveals the existence of suspicious payments to Joseph Muscat from a Swiss company linked to Steward Health Care. Two ex-directors of the company also raise concerns to Times of Malta about the Swiss company’s operations.

November 9, 2021 – Acting on behalf of Repubblika, Jason Azzopardi flags the Times of Malta article to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà and demands that the two ex-directors are interviewed. 

November/December, 2021 – Discussions about coordinating a police search with the aim of seizing evidence from Joseph Muscat’s electronic devices take place.

December 28, 2021 – Joseph Muscat erases data on his iPhone.

January 15, 2022 – Magistrate Gabriella Vella officially orders the search.

January 16, 2022 – Jason Azzopardi publicly hints at the search.

Jason Azzopardi’s Facebook post three days ahead of the search.

January 19, 2022 – Police search Joseph Muscat’s house and office.