Hospitals concession: Grech accuses government of fraud, Abela says Opposition leader a ‘liar’

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech sparred in parliament on Monday, as the House discussed the Appeals Court decision that confirmed the cancellation of the hospitals deal.

Grech accused the PM of being a “criminal and fraudster” while Abela accused the PN leader of jumping on the bandwagon when it only benefitted him.

In an urgent parliamentary debate on Monday, parliament debated the Appeals Court judgment on that confirmed a court decision earlier this year that annulled the Steward hospitals deal.

Speaking first, Bernard Grech said all Labour parliamentary groups “from 2013 till today” are all guilty of fraud.

“When they got elected in 2013, they started planning to defraud the Maltese and Gozitans. A few weeks after the offshore accounts were opened, the plan was launched. The plan was carried out not by a few individuals, but by the whole Labour Party parliamentary group,” he said.

He said claims by the PM that efforts were made to rescind the deal were not true, and government knew it was a “fraudulent deal”.

“We warned you to be careful, but you didn’t listen,” Grech told MPs on the government benches.

Grech said Monday’s sentence gave government “the biggest certificate of criminality, fraud, collusion and criminality” against the Maltese.

The statement irked Abela, who requested a point of order, insisting the PN leader substantiate his claims. Grech quoted paragraph 68 and 18, among the most damning of Monday’s sentence.

“We observed that the granting of the concession to the appellant companies was not the result of deception by one of the parties, but the result of collusion between the two parties,” the sentence reads.

Grech said Abela’s distancing from of his involvement in the deal meant he was throwing former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Health Minister Chris Fearne and Chris Cardona under the bus.

“The sentence was clear. The fraud was carried out by senior government figures,” Grech said. “You betrayed your office, and that is a criminal offence.”

Robert Abela came out swinging after Grech speech, saying he would not turn the discussion into a partisan debate, before proceeding to tell the PN leader he was a “free rider”.

Abela insisted government did not wait for Monday’s sentence before carrying out a controlled delivery and taking back the hospitals previously under Steward’s management.

Abela asserted the ruling regarding the Steward hospitals deal bolsters the government's position in the arbitration proceedings it has initiated against Steward at the International Chamber of Commerce, aimed at recovering the funds disbursed by the government.

He also refuted the claim that the government has not taken any steps to initiate proceedings for the recovery of funds paid to Steward, emphasizing that such a case has already been filed and is currently underway within the framework of the International Chamber of Commerce.

The PM emphasized that if it is determined that Vitals Global Healthcare or their successors, Steward, had received payments in exchange for services or investments that were not adequately fulfilled, the government is committed to reclaiming those funds.

Abela also accused the PN of political spin when citing the €400 million figure as that which the government needs to recoup, noting that the PN is not taking into account the services which were given by Steward.

“The PN fails to factor in the investment carried out by Steward,” Abela insisted.

Abela noted that the Court of Appeal had given an important tool to the government in its ICC proceedings when it said that Steward cannot try and absolve itself of what Vitals had been responsible for and must cover their responsibilities as well.

He noted that the operating costs of the Gozo General Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital had not decreased when compared to what was being paid to Steward.

Abela concluded that today the government is giving health services which didn’t even exist in 2013, and is committed to giving more and more services and putting in more investment so that more lives can be saved.

Government supported Steward despite evidence of fraud – Adrian Delia

Addressing parliament, MP Adrian Delia criticized the Labour Government for supporting Vitals and Steward for five years despite evident instances of fraud. He pointed out that this cause was initially defended by Joseph Muscat for two years and continued to be supported by Robert Abela for the subsequent three years.

Delia noted that following the Court of Appeal's statement, Prime Minister Robert Abela avoided discussing the Court's decision and that the Court's findings directly contradicted Abela's earlier statements. He referred to Abela's claim that the Labour Party always worked in the best interests of the Maltese people and questioned how this could be true in light of the Court of Appeal's recent statement.

Nationalist MP Adrian Delia

He emphasized that the Court had not only identified fraud but also found complicity on the part of the government, implying that the fraud was carried out in cooperation between Vitals and the government against the Maltese and Gozitan people. He cited a Konrad Mizzi email as evidence, saying, "Everything is well, friends; you can open the accounts in Panama."

Delia pointed out that Prime Minister Abela accusing the PN of spinning the situation was "very Machiavellian," as the Nationalist Party's actions were in the public interest.

He noted that the Labour Party claimed to have done everything in their power, but Delia questioned this assertion, highlighting that they had defended fraudulent foreign companies for five years, revealing a lack of commitment to the people's interests.

Delia criticized the government's priorities, especially Abela's statement that they had done more with the €400 million than just renovating bathrooms, and challenged them to record the state of St Luke's Hospital, which he described as abandoned.

He concluded by asking whether responsibility and shame exist in Malta and called on government officials to acknowledge their mistakes and seek forgiveness, particularly for the harm caused to workers, small businesses, the elderly, and students, who were affected by these decisions.