‘Hidden hand’ peddling corruption stories to discredit Chris Fearne

Stories of corruption involving Chris Fearne’s close aide appearing in obscure news sites suggest an orchestrated campaign by a “hidden hand” to discredit the deputy prime minister. 

The stories implicating Carmen Ciantar and her daughter in bribery allegations have been peddled by a public relations agency and published on sites with questionable credentials, a MaltaToday investigation reveals. Attempts to verify the claims have so far proved unsuccessful. 

The reason behind this disinformation campaign appears to be Fearne’s testimony on the VGH-Steward hospitals deal, which may prove crucial in the ongoing inquiry conducted by Magistrate Gabriella Vella.

READ ALSO: Police, magistrate yet to summon Carmen Ciantar for questioning

Fearne’s testimony has already been given a lot of weight by a Maltese judge who struck down the hospitals contract earlier this year. Subsequently, in his third hospitals investigation published last month, the Auditor General made it amply clear that he believed the deputy prime minister over former minister Konrad Mizzi. 

Unbeknown to many, Fearne had testified in the magisterial inquiry, which kicked off four years ago following a complaint filed by rule of law NGO Repubblika. 

Sources within the judicial system have suggested “things are coming to a head”, implying that the magistrate was in the process of completing her job before former prime minister Joseph Muscat asked the constitutional court to remove her. 

The inquiry could very well recommend criminal charges be issued against key people from the Muscat administration involved in the hospitals deal, including the former prime minister. 

But the attempt to undermine Fearne’s credibility could also play into the hands of Steward Health Care in ongoing arbitration proceedings in front of the International Court of Arbitration. Steward is contesting the termination of the Malta hospitals concession. 

“There is clearly a hidden hand pushing these stories to try and damage Chris Fearne’s reputation,” a source close to government has told MaltaToday. “This appears to be an attempt to create chaos, muddy the waters and divert attention from recent investigations by reputable news organisations that have ruffled a lot of feathers.”

The Muscat revelations 

One the most recent revelations was that published by Times of Malta in a joint collaboration with The Shift and OCCRP (Organised Crime Corruption Reporting Project). 

The investigation showed that after stepping down from prime minister in January 2022, Muscat had received payments for consultancy work he did with a Swiss company, Accutor, that had in a previous incarnation been called VGH Europe. 

VGH Europe was set up by Ram Tumuluri, one of the key players in the hospitals deal awarded to Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) in 2015 and subsequently transferred to Steward Health Care. Steward had made several payments to Accutor after it acquired the hospitals concession. 

Muscat has denied any wrongdoing, insisting all consultancy work is documented and legitimate. He then upped the ante and filed constitutional proceedings to remove the inquiring magistrate after she refused to recuse herself because her father and brother had publicly shown support to anti-corruption protests in 2019. 

The constitutional proceedings risk stopping the inquiry in its tracks pending an outcome. 

In a recent interview on Smash TV, Muscat hinted at the imminent possibility of him being charged in court, threatening to sue those fomenting the whole affair. He went on to accuse his ‘unknown’ detractors as “freemasons”, an establishment well connected to the togas in court, he said.

Sources in the Labour Party have told MaltaToday that Muscat’s foray on Manuel Cuschieri’s Smash TV show was a source of concern. The former PM played the victim card and tugged at the heartstrings of the PL’s core supporters in what the sources interpreted as a message to Robert Abela, who has so far adopted a detached stand, insisting that the institutions should be allowed to do their job.

READ ALSO: Labour ignoring ‘the elephant in the room’