A 2021 letter to the Prime Minster

The inquiry into the VGH deal referenced a letter sent in 2021 by doctor Armin Ernst who was CEO of Vitals and eventually became director of the Steward companies in Malta – he held a position of authority during both concessionaires.

Moreover, in September 2021, Ernst sent a letter to Abela alleging that the award of the concession to VGH had been obtained fraudulently although he gave no indication that he had acted upon this information while he was engaged with VGH or Steward, the report reads.

The inquiry further included submissions by Steward Health Care International in the case filed by the PN to have the deal nullified which stated that Steward was aware that the concession was “under pressure due to the shortcomings of Vitals and lack of oversight by the Ministry of Health” when it entered the concession itself.

The then-Prime Minister, as well as other high-level politicians, had allegedly promised Steward that the concession would be renegotiated to be “financially viable”, but that did not happen. It was this promise and the uncertainty over the state of negotiations following Muscat’s resignation that prompted Steward to send a letter of protest to Abela on 28th September 2021.

According to these submissions, the company had “entered into the concession after promises which were made to it, including by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and Chief of Staff of the epoch, that the concession was going to be renegotiated to be financially viable. Promises that were breached and faded into nothing”.

Therefore, the company argued, the defrauded party was not the government but Steward that “in good faith” relied on the assurances provided by the highest-ranking representatives including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, and Chief of Staff of the government of an EU member state with which it was discussing the basis of its investment.

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