Jason Azzopardi Asks To Submit Newly Obtained Documents And Information In Vitals Corruption Case
Former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has asked the courts for permission to submit what he has described as newly obtained documents and information in the ongoing proceedings related to the Vitals scandal.
Writing on Facebook, the former PN MP said that in recent days he had received, under the protection of professional secrecy, several documents which he said had been “hidden” from the inquiring magistrate by a state entity in 2020. The information had been requested as part of the magisterial inquiry into the case, Azzopardi said.
“[The documents] were passed on to me under professional secrecy in order for me to pass them on to the magistrate,” Azzopardi wrote on Facebook.
He said he had filed a court application earlier this week in which he informed the court about their details and about his willingness to present the documents in court under oath if ordered to do so.
“The magistrate, correctly, decided that it should be the Attorney General/Prosecution to take a decision on the request since the court presiding over a compilation of evidence has no power to bring forward evidence,” Azzopardi said.
He said the court had therefore ordered that the Attorney General be notified in order for her to decide on the matter.
This latest development come hours after the Times of Malta revealed that Steward Healthcare paid €10 million to Ram Tumuluri, the businessman behind the failed VGH project. Tumuluri, whose tenure at VGH has been marred by allegations of fraud, reportedly received the sum after Steward accused him of financial misconduct.
According to Times of Malta, the payment was made as part of a settlement agreement, despite Steward’s public claims that Tumuluri had defrauded them.
Tumuluri, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri, former minister Konrad Mizzi along with several other professionals and civil servants have been charged in court in relation to the case.
In 2015, Malta awarded a 30-year concession to Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) to manage three state hospitals. The deal faced criticism due to VGH’s inexperience and alleged collusion with government officials. In 2018, Steward Health Care acquired the concession. In February 2023, a court annulled the agreement, citing fraud by both VGH and Steward, and ordered the hospitals’ return to the government.
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