Joseph Muscat losing his cool as corruption proceedings against him continue

Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat raised his voice in court on Wednesday as delays continued in corruption proceedings centred on the Vitals hospitals deal, including €60,000 he received in payments investigators suspect were concealed bribes.

“We’ve had enough now, this is not on,” Muscat was heard saying towards the prosecution as defence lawyers challenged the pace of the case before Magistrate Lara Lanfranco.

The payments are central to allegations about Muscat’s personal financial connection to the concession.

After leaving office in January 2020, he received four instalments of €15,000: two from Accutor Consulting and two from Spring XMedia, Swiss companies controlled by businessman Wasay Bhatti.

His consultancy agreement envisaged monthly payments of €15,000 over three years, totalling €540,000.

Only €60,000 was paid before banks stopped the payments after flagging them as suspicious in June 2020. Accutor Consulting had previously been called VGH Europe, linking the payer to the original hospitals operator.

According to a magisterial inquiry, investigators concluded that Steward used Accutor to establish a “political support fund”, diverting concession money into payments benefiting Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

The inquiry rejected coincidence as a credible explanation for the three politicians developing relationships with the same foreign corporate network during the same period. Investigators also questioned the documentation supporting the consultancy.

Muscat denies wrongdoing and maintains that the payments covered legitimate consultancy work.

The inquiry’s conclusions remain contested allegations in the ongoing criminal proceedings.

The case originates in the Muscat government’s 2015 concession handing St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo General hospitals to Vitals. Steward took over in 2018. A civil court annulled the concession in 2023 on grounds of fraud, a decision upheld on appeal.

Muscat pleaded not guilty when arraigned in May 2024.

On Wednesday, defence lawyers questioned continued delays and attempts to secure inquiry expert Jeremy Harbinson’s testimony, saying he had previously indicated he was unwilling and unable to testify.

A translator tasked with German documents appeared after defence objections over her absence. She cited a substantial backlog, prompting the magistrate to appoint a replacement.

The defence demanded clarity on outstanding prosecution evidence.

The case continues in December.