Former Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Alfred Camilleri has submitted a judicial letter accusing court expert Sam Sittlington of abusing his privileged position as a court expert in the Vitals inquiry.

Camilleri was one of the individuals charged with fraud and dereliction of duty given that he was permanent secretary that signed off the corrupt deal. He maintains his innocence and says in his judicial letter that he will be holding Sittlington directly and personally responsible for any and all damages caused to him as a direct result of his contributions to the inquiry.

“As a direct result of said report, which you confirmed on oath, Mr. Camilleri was erroneously and unjustly subjected to criminal prosecution in Malta causing him irreparable harm and damages,” read the judicial letter. “The report is riddled with inaccuracies and blatant conjectures which expose your flagrant conflict of interest and lack of impartiality.”

Camilleri’s lawyers argued that the “circumstances” surrounding the report were “suspiciously similar, if not identical”, to Sittlington’s past involvement in a case involving the Government of the Republic of Guyana.

Camilleri’s judicial letter refers to a 2018 incident when Sittlington was contracted by the Government of the United Kingdom to assist the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Republic of Guyana Police Force. During his engagement, Sittlington allegedly created a private fraud investigation company called “The Fraud Company (Guyana) Inc.” without the knowledge of the Guyanese authorities. Camilleri claims that Sittlington used his access to sensitive and confidential information obtained through his role to further his personal business interests, leading to the termination of his contract by the UK Government.

The judicial letter suggests that Sittlington repeated the same behaviour in Malta while working on the Vitals inquiry. Camilleri alleges that Sittlington attempted to sell his advisory services to the Malta Police Force for a substantial fee, reportedly close to a million euros, while using the privileged information he accessed during the inquiry. “You attempted to use, or rather, abuse, your privileged position within the inquiry relating to the hospital concessions, as well as the sensitive and confidential information you were made aware of,” Camilleri wrote.

The Vitals hospital concession scandal was mired in controversy from the outset.

Initially intended as a public-private partnership to manage three state hospitals—St. Luke’s, Karin Grech, and Gozo General Hospital—the deal was eventually exposed as corrupt and mismanaged, culminating in its controversial sale to Steward Health Care. The concession was eventually cancelled by a court which found it to be fraudulent.

Multiple individuals have been charged in relation to the VGH scandal, including former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, former deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne as well as several civil servants with accusations ranging from fraud and dereliction of duty to financial misconduct. 

The judicial letter was signed by lawyers Franco Debono, Maurice Meli and Stefano Filletti.

Cover Image Photos, Left: Alfred Camilleri, Right: Sam Sittlington