Watch: ‘A Dangerous Move’ – Justice Minister Warns PN’s Legal Action Could Have Caused Serious Injustice
Justice Minister Jonathan Attard criticised the PN for instituting legal proceedings to force the State Advocate to recover €400 million in “stolen funds” from Steward Healthcare.
Interviewed on Ricky Caruana’s podcast, Attard decried this legal move as “dangerous” and warned it could have led to a serious miscarriage of justice.
“They legally threatened the State Advocate, the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner that they would sue them in their personal capacities unless they take action against several people over this presumed theft,” he said.
“Imagine if these institutions lacked the discernment to make their own decisions and had opened civil proceedings against these individuals.”
“They could have frozen their assets, only for the theft claim to later be proven as a lie. It would have been a serious injustice and would have exposed the state, since these people would certainly have sued for compensation.
“I understand that the Opposition’s role is to criticise and scrutinise the government, but escalating matters legally in a rash and premature way, without considering the potential repercussions, isn’t politics; it’s irresponsibility.”
“Certain Opposition actions are dangerous, and God forbid someone is ever subjected to this kind of injustice.”
Ruling on the PN’s request last year, the Appeals Court ruled that the State Advocate had the power to independently seek the recovery of any defrauded money.
The PN had reached the conclusion that €400 million were robbed by adding the €268 million the government paid Steward between 2016 and 2021 to the €69 million and €79 million it paid them in two following Budgets.
This money was over and above subsidies for staff salaries, although the government insisted it incorporated several medical services.
An International Chamber of Commerce Tribunal found that Steward received a total of €885 million from the government over the duration of the contract. Meanwhile, the government received benefits of up to €889 million.
Photo: Ricky Caruana Podcast