‘No proof against me’ – Joseph Muscat in Facebook video slams Vitals inquiry

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has spoken for the first time since MaltaToday published the Vitals inquiry, which he described as “baseless” and full of “conjecture.”

In a video he posted on Facebook, Muscat said that the inquiry found no evidence against him, as he described the experts’ reports “contradictory” to each other. 

“€11 million was used to find €60,000 in transactions for work that I had done, and I had told them about it because I declared it,” Muscat said. “Despite this, someone still decided to issue a €30 million freezing order, for which there is no justification,” he slammed, calling the inquiry “a second Egrant.”

Muscat once again stated that the inquiry hinges on testimony from Kamal Sharma, although Muscat referred to him as “an Indian person.” Sharma, who is also set to be charged, is the former director of Accutor, who had claimed that the firm sent payments to Muscat in early 2020. 

Accutor is a Swiss company that received €3.6 million from Steward Healthcare and was formerly named VGH Europe. The name was switched to Accutor Consulting in January 2018, shortly before Steward Health Care took over the concession to run three hospitals in Malta.

Muscat further claimed that arguments against him are purely based on the question of whether he knew the extent of the fraud being carried out by his government. “I’ll respond to this when the time is right,” Muscat said.

He further questioned the lack of evidence noted by the inquiry regarding his consultancy work, as Muscat stated that investigators should have summoned him so that he could answer for the job. 

A day before he is set to be charged, Muscat said that he is focussed on destroying, “this sandcastle of conjecture with a tsunami of facts and evidence.”

Muscat thanked those who are still by his side, as he appealed for calm.