Edward Scicluna had no knowledge of €100 million termination clause in Vitals agreement

Former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna admitted that he was unaware of a €100 million termination clause in the Vitals agreement signed by Konrad Mizzi.

Despite serving as finance minister when the deal was being negotiated, Scicluna confessed to the court that he first heard about the side-letter through media reports. He said that the deal was handled largely by the Health Ministry, and the side letter signed by former minister Konrad Mizzi.

He was also uninformed of an MOU, which had been signed by former economy minister Chris Cardona six months before a call for proposals was issued.

This was all said during Scicluna’s testimony in a court hearing related to the Vitals agreement - a case brought by PN MP and former Opposition leader Adrian Delia in the hopes of erasing the hospitals privatisation deal.

Scicluna said that he had asked Mizzi for a copy of the agreements involved in the deal back in June or July of 2016, with the documentation to be handed over to the permanent secretary within the Finance Ministry.

Konrad Mizzi was initially summoned to appear during the hearing, but he told the court he has COVID-19 symptoms and is under quarantine until he receives his test result. He submitted an application requesting to postpone his testimony.

Joseph Muscat was also expected to testify, but he had filed an application on December 3 informing the court that he will be abroad today.

Despite this, both Muscat and Mizzi are expected to appear before the court in January, with Mizzi being told to present a copy of the side letter concerning the €100 million termination clause.