Joseph Muscat netted payments from Swiss firm formerly called VGH Europe

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat is being investigated for his consultancy contract with a Swiss company that could have been used to disguise payments from the Vitals-Steward hospitals deal.

An investigation by the Times of Malta, The Shift News, and OCCRP has revealed that police are probing Muscat’s bank accounts and income declarations in connection to corruption in the hospitals’ deal.

Investigators suspect that his consultancy contract with Swiss company SpringX Media could have been used to disguise payments from the deal.

Muscat received consultancy payments from SpringX Media and Accutor Consulting, both registered at the same Swiss address.

However, Accutor Consulting used to be called VGH Europe. It was switched to Accutor Consulting in January 2018, shortly before Steward Health Care took over the concession to run three hospitals in Malta.

READ ALSO: Joseph Muscat: ‘I don’t fear arrest… this is a frame-up’

Under the full consultancy contract, Muscat was set to receive €540,000 across 36 monthly payments. But the payments stopped abruptly after four months, meaning Muscat netted €60,000 from SpringX Media and Accutor Consulting.

The investigation also shows how funds flowed from Steward Health Care to Accutor. Between March 2019 and January 2020, Steward Health Care wired €500,000 to Accutor Consulting for consulting services.

Two months later, cash started to flow to Joseph Muscat’s bank account.

Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi feature in probe

The police probe could spur high-profile arrests, although the Times of Malta reports that police commissioner Angelo Gafá will hold out against carrying out arrests before the ongoing magisterial inquiry has been concluded.

Apart from Muscat, his former chief of staff Keith Schembri is also being considered a person of interest in the investigation. Steward Health Care maintains that Schembri directed Steward’s takeover of Vitals, and presented e-mails as evidence of this.

Schembri also reportedly visited Accutor’s offices in Switzerland while still serving in government. However, the probe has not found any direct payments from Accutor to Schembri.

Meanwhile, former minister Konrad Mizzi also had his home searched as part of the inquiry. Mizzi was responsible for overseeing the hospitals deal when he was health minister, and later tourism minister.

Opposition reacts

In reaction to the story, Opposition leader Bernard Grech slammed Prime Minister Robert abela for defending the hospitals’ deal.

“These are clear and concrete facts. This is why we’re certain that the Labour government is a corrupt government,” he said.

Grech also called for people to protest with the Nationalist Party in front of Parliament at 6pm on Wednesday. “You need to make your voice heard. This is your country too.”