Who, me? Corrupt? – Kevin Cassar

“The references to fraud in the court judgement in this civil case refer to third parties and not to me …. besides there is no mention of corruption”.  This was Joseph Muscat’s latest pathetic attempt at denying guilt.

Meanwhile, his former consultant and successor Robert Abela was frantically distancing himself from the whole debacle – “I had no role” – for good reason.

Joseph Muscat is brazenly claiming he committed no corruption, deviously insisting he committed no fraud.  Mr Justice Depasquale’s weak judgement allows him to do so.  That judgement pinned most of the blame on Vitals and Steward.  They bore the brunt of the court’s brutal condemnation. Muscat was let off lightly, only being mentioned twice by name, as he triumphantly pointed out.  References to him are foggy at best.

But let us humour Muscat for a while.  Let us, for a minute, imagine that Muscat is a paragon of integrity. Let us take him for his word that he always acted in the interest of the people. If that were so, the only conclusion we can reach is that here was the most incompetent, the most incapable and dangerous prime minister we ever had. The scale of his bungling, clearly outlined in the judgement, constitutes criminal negligence.

The responsibility of the prime minister was to protect the interests of the people.  As the court outlined, the nation was duped and cheated by Vitals and then Steward on an industrial scale. The people were robbed of their hospitals and of millions of euros. Muscat’s responsibility was to protect us. He didn’t.

“Steward led government to alter the concession to include a €100 million default penalty and to make government assume all its debts.  Did the people in authority accept out of ingenuity or pressure?” the court asked.

Muscat is not mentioned by name here.  But he was in authority.  Steward’s first priority was to make money for their shareholders. They can’t be blamed for the unbelievable bonanza.  Muscat is to blame for signing up Malta to its most rotten deal.

Mr Justice Depasquale was right: “No person having the country’s good at heart would ever enter such a deal.” That’s an almighty telling off.  Muscat’s name isn’t mentioned here either. But it’s him the judge is referring to.

“The fraudulent behaviour persisted not only prior but also throughout the concession.  None of the projects were completed and some were not even started. Medical tourism was fictitious and never put into effect – it was all part of the fraudulent plot”, the judgement read. Who was responsible for ensuring the milestones agreed were reached? Joseph Muscat. And what did he do when they weren’t?

He, and his sidekick Konrad Mizzi, gave waiver after waiver, often before even consulting cabinet.

The court concluded that the fact that Vitals kept the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding hidden was “evidence of its fraudulent intent”. But it wasn’t just Vitals who kept it hidden. Muscat kept it hidden too. That MoU was also withheld from the NAO, until Robert Abela ordered it to be found. Muscat was complicit in that “fraudulent intent”.

“Doubts about the good faith of Vitals should have been flagged by all those responsible in government”, the Court noted. Muscat’s name is not mentioned. But it’s him the court is referring to.  He should have realised that Vitals was taking the whole country for a ride.

Instead, Muscat’s star minister “introduced changes only to the benefit of Vitals and certainly not the people”.

Muscat was responsible for that.

“No one else but the prime minister was to represent the republic, he was the one who had the obligation to seek rescission of the contract when it was evident that Vitals was not fulfilling its obligations”.  Muscat’s name is not mentioned. But it’s him the court is referring to. “The government incredibly went on to renegotiate the deal. The concessionaire was given an additional 4.5 years to do what they were meant to do – and still did nothing”.

At best Muscat failed the nation dismally. At best he allowed himself to be duped repeatedly and completely by Vitals and then Steward. At best he was a bumbling incompetent amateur.

But that’s very far from reality. These weren’t genuine mistakes of an ingenue. This was planned malicious criminal conspiracy.

Muscat knew what he was doing. Muscat’s evaluation committee carried out “no due diligence” according to the court. But Daphne Caruana Galizia did.  She highlighted the dodgy past of Ram Tumuluri. Muscat continued to cover up his tracks by refusing to publish the due diligence.

Caruana Galizia exposed the Memorandum of Understanding Muscat kept secret. She exposed Muscat’s plans to award the concession to Vitals. But it wasn’t just Caruana Galizia who raised concerns about Muscat’s plans. The medical association of Malta was so concerned about the deal that it requested the Parliamentary accounts committee to investigate the privatisation contract. The UHM refused to meet Vitals. Marlene Farrugia, and later Godfrey Farrugia, condemned the deal.

Muscat doggedly refused to publish the Vitals agreements. He wouldn’t even share them with the Unions. When the agreement was finally tabled in parliament it was so extensively redacted that whole pages were blacked out. He “deliberately hid” the concession milestones. Not even then Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne knew what was in those agreements. Is that putting the interest of the people first?

No. This was part of Muscat’s roadmap. He put Nexia BT on the Vitals adjudication committee. The very people who set up complex financial structures in secretive jurisdictions for Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri, Adrian Hillman, Cheng Chen and for the secret Egrant owner were chosen to decide who got the concession. They selected Muscat’s predetermined bidder – an entity with absolutely no health experience.

Muscat is no incompetent fool. The minor detail of tens of thousands of euro pouring into his personal BOV account from a company paid millions by Steward, just days after he stepped down is proof enough. This is the trademark of a skilled operator. He wasn’t fooled by Vitals and Steward. He was fooling us – and still is.