‘Tribunal found no fraud in Steward hospitals deal’ – Robert Abela

The International Chamber of Commerce found no fraud in the hospitals deal, Robert Abela said on Monday evening as he praised the tribunal for a "meticulous" decision which he said proved the government right.  

The Prime Minister said he was very satisfied by the "well-researched" 200-page decision communicated on Monday. It showed that the Nationalist Party was attempting to sell people a lie, he said. 

“The PN relentlessly repeated claims that Steward went off with €400 million in taxpayer money. This decision confirms that was not true,” he said.

“The Opposition was lying from day one. It sold a false claim to the people. Adrian Delia’s claim not only was discarded, but the tribunal found Steward delivered more in services than what it was paid for.”

Abela was speaking at a press conference in a reaction to an ICC decision which ruled that Malta and Steward Health Care do not owe each other compensation for the government's decision to terminate a concession deal for the company to run three state hospitals.

The ICC rejected Steward’s claim that the government had unlawfully terminated the concession and owed it contractual damages.

It concluded Steward was only owed €4.8 million from the government as the balance of benefits received, and not the €148 million compensation that the now-shuttered healthcare company was seeking.

Abela: I want to make decision public

Abela said the decision is still being analysed by government lawyers and he would be able to comment further when they have gone through all of it. 

Ha said he was being legally advised not to publish the decision for now but pledged he would publish it “immediately” as soon as he was given the green light.

It is very unlikely Steward will appeal the decision, he said. 

“With skill, competence, seriousness, and knowledge of the subject, we managed to defend the national interest,” he said.

“Not only did we get health services in return for the money we paid, but we got fair value for what we paid.”

Asked by Times of Malta why the government had sought compensation from Steward if it knew all along that it had received fair value in the deal, Abela said that was simply a "procedural move."

He did not say how much compensation the government had requested in its submissions.  

Case triggered after deal cancellation

Proceedings before the ICC were triggered by Steward after the government cancelled a multi-year deal for it to run three state hospitals. 

The cancellation decision came after a court declared the deal to be fraudulent. A court of appeal subsequently also noted that "senior government officials" were complicit in the privatisation fraud and that the Maltese government had failed to uphold the national interest.

The civil courts also concluded that Steward had barely done anything to improve the hospitals and had failed to uphold their contractual obligations. 

Asked by Times of Malta whether he believes the courts were also lying to the people in two consecutive judgments that found fraud and collusion, Abela would only say patients were given the services the government paid for and that Steward had spent €41.5 million in infrastruture on the hospitals.

Secret proceedings

Proceedings were held in secret, with little known about the case. Steward was seeking compensation on the basis of a clause inserted into the concession which promised it a €100 million payout if the deal was terminated for any reason.

Ultimately, it sought €148 million in compension. 

But the government was also seeking to be compensated -  compensation which it did not get on Monday. The ICC dismissed that bid.

The amount the government was asking for was never made public and Abela would not disclose it on Monday, despite repeated questions from reporters.

He said his promise was always to fight for every cent that may have been owed, but now that the tribunal found nothing was owed, he was satisfied with the decision and did not feel the government should try to appeal or act further in any way.

He thanked Justice Minister Jonathan Attard for his work on the case who, in turn, thanked lawyers, civil servants and government officials who worked for the national interest. 

Their contribution was crucial for the country to get to this point, he said, and Monday’s decision was a confirmation that this government worked cautiously and wisely to protect public funds and public health.