Allegations of corruption around the so-called Vitals deal came to prominence Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese investigative journalist who was murdered in 2017. Before his death, Caruana Galizia published an extensive investigation of the privatization deals brokered by the Muscat administration.
Charges are also pending against Muscat, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2020, as first reported by the Times of Malta. Muscat responded by expressing fear of legal action against him On Facebook: “This is no longer just a political vendetta, but has transformed itself into an insult and an abomination.”
Scicluna was finance minister at the time of the vitals deal, while Fearne – who was recently suggested by Prime Minister Robert Abela to be part of the next European Commission – had been health minister since 2016.
A Maltese court last year voided the agreement between the government and Vitals Group Healthcare (VGH) in a harsh ruling, finding that VGH had failed in all its obligations with Dallas-based Steward Health Care, which Concession was purchased in 2018. Steward, which continued to make payments to VGH shareholders after the closing of that deal, applied for bankruptcy Security in the US on Monday after several missteps in managing the network of 31 hospitals in its home market.
Scicluna declined to comment for this article. He testified in a related court case in 2020 that he was not aware of the details of conversations between then-Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and VGH.
Mizzi, along with Muscat’s former chief of staff Keith Schembri, are also expected to face charges as a result of the investigation, according to the charge sheet seen by POLITICO.