Police dismiss Joseph Muscat complaint against Vitals expert
Milenović cleared as police find no criminal liability in Vitals expert complaint
Police have dismissed a criminal complaint filed by ex-prime minister Joseph Muscat and other defendants against a court-appointed expert in the Vitals hospitals scandal.
Parties to the complaint were informed last week that “no criminal liability” has been found against financial expert Miroslava Milenović.
Milenović’s qualifications to be appointed to the inquiry as a “forensic accountant” were called into question by defence lawyers in the hospitals case during a November 2024 court sitting.
She admitted in court that while she never obtained a warrant as an accountant, she was qualified for the role she was appointed to.
This admission triggered the criminal complaint by Muscat and other defendants, who accused Milenović of perjury and fraud for presenting herself as a forensic accountant.
Following an investigation into the complaint, police declared that no criminal liability has been found against Milenović.
In her inquiry conclusions, Milenović suggested further police investigations into Muscat’s bank accounts.
Muscat and other top former officials face corruption, money-laundering and criminal association charges over a €4 billion deal to hand over the running of three public hospitals to private entities.
The ex-prime minister, who denies the charges, is also challenging a €30 million asset freeze imposed as a result of the case.
The Vitals inquiry found signs that millions of euros had been siphoned out of the Muscat-era deal. Muscat was hired as a consultant by people linked to the deal months after he resigned as prime minister.
Since proceedings kicked off, police have been roped in to investigate another expert in the inquiry, over his refusal to testify in the case.
A court in January ordered police to look for lead expert Jeremy Harbinson, who has washed his hands of the inquiry and refused to even testify remotely.
Magistrate Leonard Caruana ordered the police commissioner “to carry out all necessary investigations to determine the potential whereabouts of Jeremy Harbinson”.
The decision came after Northern Irish authorities said that Harbinson’s legal representatives told them that Harbinson was not in the United Kingdom.
After receiving that statement, the Northern Irish authorities considered the case closed, but said they would be open to receiving another request if Maltese authorities could pinpoint the whereabouts of the court expert.