Keith Schembri used a fake e-mail address under the alias 'Frank Pillow' to engage in sensitive discussions on the hospital concession.
Investigators looking into the hospital deal discovered how the then OPM chief of staff would frequently use multiple e-mail addresses for the same conversations.
“We have identified that Schembri and his associates routinely changed e-mail accounts during the course of e-mail conversations. This may indicate an attempt to mask the whole content of a message chain.”
In one example, Schembri and then Health Minister Konrad Mizzi used their private e-mail accounts to communicate with Vitals director Ram Tumuluri in the days leading up to the formal signing of the concession contract.
The conversation, which was found in Schembri’s ‘Frank Pillow’ e-mail, appeared to be about ongoing efforts by Tumuluri to secure close to €200 million in financing for the promised revamp of the St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo hospitals.
Schembri then forwarded the conversation from his ‘Frank Pillow’ e-mail account to another account linked to his Kasco business.
Investigators said this exchange was significant, as it showed both Schembri and Mizzi were aware - prior to signing the Vitals contract - that Tumuluri had yet to raise the necessary financing for the project, but failed to raise the alarm.
This financing by Vitals would never come, leaving the hospitals in a state of disrepair.
The use of their private e-mail accounts further suggested that Schembri and Mizzi were “privately” assisting Vitals, in a manner that was “separate but parallel” to their government roles.
While not illegal, the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct government business leaves major gaps in accountability during sensitive discussions about the use of public funds.
Attempts by the Opposition to outlaw the practice as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption bill have been shot down by Prime Minister Robert Abela’s government.
Further examples of Schembri using his private e-mail account were found when Steward was negotiating the nuts and bolts of its takeover from Vitals.
On January 21, 2018, Steward president Armin Ernst sent an e-mail to Schembri’s Gmail account clearly setting out Steward’s final position regarding the Vitals purchase.
In the e-mail, Ernst flagged how Vitals had misused public money to fund the purchase of medical suppliers Technoline and Mtrace, another company that owned an expensive cancer treatment device called a cyclotron.
Investigators said it would appear evident from the absence of any shocked response from Schembri that the misuse of public funds “was not news to him”.
In fact, Vitals' financial controller Saba Abbas had already drawn up a report for Schembri detailing how Tumuluri allegedly misappropriated €26 million in public money from Vitals.
Rather than immediately reporting this to the police, investigators say Schembri appeared to have instead used the knowledge as leverage over Tumuluri.
Schembri, Mizzi and ex-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat are all set to face money-laundering and criminal association charges on Tuesday.