The €6 million smear: Malta’s silence on a state-funded frame-up

Two years ago, former health minister Chris Fearne was maliciously targeted with fake reports of having received a €3.2 million kickback from the sale of a golden passport.

Just weeks earlier, in March 2023, Prime Minister Robert Abela complained that the inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death hadn’t concluded. “Today, three months later and no end in sight… nobody has been charged” – Abela protested vigorously then because nobody had been indicted.  Yet two years after the assault on Fearne, Abela isn’t rebuking the police commissioner or the Attorney General for failing to prosecute those who maliciously sought to destroy Fearne.

Why not? Labour’s media machine is busy harassing Jeremy Harbinson, but has conveniently forgotten Fearne’s persecution.

The police know exactly who was behind the smear campaign, thanks to the OCCRP.  The police also know, thanks to journalists, that the €6.5 million spent on British intelligence companies to destroy Fearne and other Steward critics came from the Maltese government. All the evidence, including invoices, the fake bank transaction alleging Fearne’s abuse, and invoices from the intelligence companies to Steward Malta Management Ltd, has been exposed.

The police had all their work done for them, yet months later, they still haven’t charged anybody. What’s more suspicious is that Abela isn’t clamouring for the prosecution of the culprits.

That campaign to smear Fearne was ordered by Steward Health Care.  But the money came from Malta’s Labour government.

Armin Ernst, who was Ram Tumuluri’s right-hand man as Vitals CEO and then conveniently transitioned to Steward Malta CEO, played a key part. On 18 October 2018, he rudely wrote to Fearne, “I am truly getting exasperated.  It is not possible to run the operations of an organisation when… revenue transfer from GoM (Government of Malta) becomes a matter of guess work”.

Just one minute later, Ernst forwarded that e-mail to Keith Schembri.

Meanwhile, Ernst kept a close eye on Fearne.  In December 2021, Ernst flagged a media report about irregularities at the Foundation for Medical Services.  “Attached a report just published that for the first time hints at some significant irregularity within Chris Fearne’s realm,” Ernst noted gleefully, “There have always been rumours of a romantic relationship between him and Carmen Ciantar”.

That same month, Steward hired CT Group, a UK intelligence firm, to destroy Fearne using funds obtained from the Maltese government.  CT Group pledged to “deploy into the public domain information about the main opponent of the Client’s concession in Malta”.  The OCCRP revealed that the aim was to “identify improper behaviour and leak it anonymously to the Maltese media”.

When CT Group found no “improper” behaviour, they devised a fake bank transfer for €3.2 million paid into the bank account of Ciantar’s daughter. CT Group’s director, Will Crawford, authored a document entitled ‘Malta: Abuse of Passport Scheme’ that falsely claimed Fearne abusively benefited financially from that bank transfer for arranging a golden passport sale to a Russian citizen.

Ernst, who had been secretly emailing Keith Schembri, forwarded that malicious document in October 2022. Subsequently, it reached several media houses. The objective was for the incriminating document to be released to the public to seal Fearne’s fate.

The bank transfer was clumsy and fake, and the whole document was false. When those allegations surfaced, Fearne went to the police, demanding an investigation.  Conveniently, the police concluded the allegations were false without establishing who was behind them.  But a few journalists did.

Clearly shaken, Fearne went back to the police demanding that “the hidden hand” behind the smear campaign be identified. Fearne requested the police to “prosecute the source behind the €6 million frame-up”.  He told the press that he “expected the police to get to the bottom of it”. When directly asked whether he suspected any top officials from his own government to be “behind or aware” of the smear campaign, Fearne said, “I do not include or exclude anyone”.

Fearne was rattled:  “I am interested in the safety of my family because whoever spent €6 million on a fabricated story about me, could do worse than that.” He was right.

Instead of defending Fearne in the face of such shocking revelations, Robert Abela cast doubt on the veracity of the journalists’ revelations.  “If the things alleged did occur…” he cynically commented. Repeatedly, Abela questioned the findings: “If what is reported is true…”.

Abela didn’t demand justice for Fearne. He didn’t pressure the police to identify the “hidden hand” behind the lies.  All he did was ask lawyers involved in the arbitration process “to look into the claims and recover any funds used”.  Just recouping the money is no justice for Fearne. Besides, Malta won’t see any of that money – Steward is bankrupt.

What is telling is that Steward considered Fearne “the main opponent” and not Abela.  Steward desperately attempted to destroy Fearne but wanted to preserve Abela. Abela refused to demand a criminal investigation into Steward’s malicious scheme. He’s never demanded and still isn’t demanding prosecution of those behind the smear campaign.

Abela is determined to keep the “hidden hand” behind that evil campaign, which was indirectly funded by the Labour government and concealed. Who is Abela protecting?

What we know for certain is that Joseph Muscat benefited handsomely from taxpayers’ money paid to Steward and passed on to Accutor AG, which ended up in Muscat’s BOV account.  His contract was worth €540,000 and could be extended indefinitely.

Muscat stood by Ernst’s side, badgering Abela to give Steward a better deal. And Abela obliged, recruiting his own father to strike a more “bankable” deal for Steward.

Instead of demanding prosecution of those who targeted Fearne, Abela uses ONE News to discredit the journalists who revealed Steward’s malicious campaign. Abela lets Joseph Muscat keep his diplomatic passport and his government offices at Sa Maison.

Abela still provides Muscat’s wife with a state-funded car and chauffeurs, even though she has never held public office. Yet he doesn’t lift a finger to get justice for his former Deputy. Why? Maybe because Fearne’s political assassination suits Abela just fine.