Swiss authorities deny Malta request for bank details in Vitals investigation

The Swiss authorities have declined a request by Malta's attorney general for judicial assistance in criminal proceedings against former prime minister Joseph Muscat and others in the Vitals hospitals case after details required by Swiss law were not provided.

The accused, who also include former chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi, have been charged with a range of crimes including misappropriation, fraud and money laundering in connection with the privatisation of three state hospitals. They have pleaded not guilty. 

The attorney general made the request for judicial assistance to the Swiss authorities on March 21, seeking information on bank accounts held by the accused in Switzerland and transactions.

A translation of the reply from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice was presented in court on Monday. 

'Fishing expedition'

The Swiss authorities said they were precluded from assisting at this stage. They pointed out that when a request for judicial assistance in a criminal matter was sought, it should include the facts of the case and details such as the date, place and modus operandi. It should also identify the individuals involved and their role.

By way of example, the Swiss authorities explained that when investigating a bank account, the facts should be laid out in a manner which establishes the illicit origins of the transaction or related funds, as well as provide the necessary indications which would allow for the identification of the banks involved.

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice held that the rogatory letter in which the Attorney General requested more information from Switzerland, did not meet the legal criteria set out in Swiss law since it did not include any information about the natural persons nor the companies facing criminal charges in Malta, who hold bank accounts in Switzerland.

Furthermore, there was no indication that allowed for the identification of the financial institutions or banks involved.

It described Malta's request as a “fishing expedition,” highlighting that Switzerland has no central register identifying all the bank accounts held by natural or juridical persons.

The Attorney General was asked to make the request in line with Swiss law.

In 2021, Times of Malta reported that Muscat had received €60,000 from Accutor AG, a Swiss company linked to US group Steward Health Care, which took over the hospitals contract from Vitals Global Healthcare in 2018.

Times of Malta also reported about a €1 million “political support fund” created by Steward Health Care which was suspected to have been set up to pass on bribes to Muscat, Schembri and Mizzi.

The funds were held by Accutor AG, a Swiss company suspected of being used as a centralised money-laundering hub for payments linked to the hospitals deal involving Vitals and Steward.

It was also revealed that Accutor had a secret agreement granting it participation rights in Steward’s Maltese operation.

The case continues in September.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello presided. Lawyers Francesco Refalo, Shelby Aquilina and Rebekah Gatt prosecuted on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office, assisted by inspector Wayne Rodney Borg.

The defence is composed of lawyers Giannella De Marco, Stephen Tonna Lowell, Charles Mercieca, Stefano Filletti, Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, Jason Grima, Shazoo Ghaznavi, Chris Cilia,Edward Gatt, Mark Vassallo, Vincent Galea, Luke Dalli, Charlon Gouder, Ishmael Psaila, Etienne Borg Ferranti, among others.