Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1450614
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS January Joseph Muscat lobbies for Robert Abela to renegotiate the Steward Hospitals deal Around the same time period, Muscat flies to Switzerland and visits the officers of Accutor, who collected money for VGH shareholders. He drafts up an indefinite contract with Spring X Media, which is linked to Accutor March Joseph Muscat receives €15,000 payment from Accutor June 7 June: Konrad Mizzi says Malta Enterprise signed the MoU with Vitals investors, not him. He also calls on government to publish the MoU after it went missing. July 14 July: Missing MoU found at Malta Enterprise Robert Abela endorses NAO report, pledges to take necessary action. He does not rule out rescinding contract. 3 July: Nexia BT boss admits no due diligence was carried out on Vitals before they were awarded the deal. September 2021 January 18 January: Joseph Muscat defends Vitals deal in court, says €100 million termination clause guaranteed bank loan without violating EU state-aid rules June Vitals in Court: Construction permits for jobs meant to be carried out by Vitals Global Healthcare on three Maltese hospitals had expired with works not even starting July 28 July: Steward freezes St Luke's masterplan as PM fails to deliver on pledge to amend tainted deal August Steward file unredacted copy of all project-related agreements and side letters in open court September 12 September: VGH law firm ordered to hand over client file to the police November 16 November: Judge Francesco Depasquale accepts Adrian Delia's request to include documents, which were described by Steward Healthcare as "fraudulent", in his case Ambrish Gupta, an early investor in the hospitals project, sues Steward Healthcare for $5 million in a London court initially owed to him by Vitals. 2022 7 February: Steward President Nadine Delicata admits that Vitals were handed huge amounts of tax money, describing the concession as 'ill-thought-out'. She says the concession was made worse by the fact that investors created a raft of companies, shifting assets between them and burning through funds. 2115 The additional 69-year term of the emphyteutical deed expires 19 January: Police raid former PM Joseph Muscat's Burmarrad property and Sa Maison office January February 2046 21 March: 30-year Emphyteutical Deed expires. Government can revert the title of the GGH and the KGRH in its favour subject to the payment of €80,000,000 to the VGH February 14 February: Government and VGH enter into the first side letter to the Service Concession Agreement. Through this letter, government waived the obligation to provide financing agreements by 19 February 2017 but extending the deadline to 30 June the same year. June Ram Tumuluri and Mark Pawley sign a back-dated contract whereby they would both be paid a combined €1 million a year by Vitals in directors' fees Technoline Only three months after Vassallo took control of Technoline, VGH entrusted the company with the procurement of all its medical supplies in a done deal that they agreed to just 19 days after the takeover Konrad Mizzi sworn in as Minister for Tourism following the 2017 General Election. Chris Fearne retains his role as Minister for Health. 23 June: Government and VGH enter into a second side letter to the Service Concession Agreement, with government extending the deadline for financing agreements to 31 December 2017. 30 June: Several amendments were signed to the Service Concession Agreement, HSDA, and LSA: SCA Deadline for works revised from a fixed date to one relative to the attainment of construction permits HSA Date of provision for additional beds extended from 1 January 2018 to 1 January 2020 LSA Formalisation of the list of resources as corresponding to 1,536 staff 1 July: Barts College on Gozo Campus. VGH failed to achieve this milestone by the specified date and until the concession was transferred to Steward Healthcare. Concession milestone September Vitals and Steward start talks to initiate a takeover 30 September: 80 rehabilitation beds for St Luke's Hospital Concession milestone December 21 December: News breaks that Vitals will be selling the Malta hospitals concession to Steward Healthcare. A week later, VGH requested approval from Malta Industrial Parks to transfer Bluestone Investments shares in VGH €33 million paid by government to VGH in 2017 2018 In the first months of 2018 Steward paid €3.2 million to VGH shareholders through Swiss firm Accutor AG as part of the takeover package February 16 February: Bluestone Investments transfers 1,140 shares to Steward Healthcare and another 60 shares to Ashak Rattchali, of American nationality. Armin Ernst and Michael Callum replace Tumuluri and Pawley as directors. 19 February: Former Opposition leader Adrian Delia files court case against government Vitals asking for the contract to be cancelled and for the three hospitals to be returned to the public. 31 May: Completion of new building at Gozo General Hospital 30 September: New Gozo General Hospital should have been up and running 31 December: Completion of St Luke's Hospital beds Concession milestone August New agreement is hammered out, as Konrad Mizzi gives Steward an 'escape clause' that turns any termination of the concession into a government default. 2019 2020 January Joseph Muscat lobbies for Robert Abela to renegotiate the Steward Hospitals deal Around the same time period, Muscat flies to Switzerland and visits the officers of Accutor, who collected money for VGH shareholders. He drafts up an indefinite contract with Spring X Media, which is linked to Accutor March Joseph Muscat receives €15,000 payment from Accutor June 7 June: Konrad Mizzi says Malta July 17 January: Joseph Muscat confirms that an €80 million buy-back clause exists in the Vitals agreement January November Minutes before resigning as minister, Konrad Mizzi testifies in court that government relied on recommendations from the evaluation board before entering into the privatisation deal 29 March: The handover plan was to be submitted to Government, but VGH failed to do this by the specified date December 7 December: Government and VGH Management sign first and second addenda to the HSA. Several changes were made to the services, activities and operations to be carried out by VGH, and government agreed to take up 100 additional beds HSA Concession milestone April 29 April: Konrad Mizzi loses his Energy and Health portfolio and is sworn in as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister. Chris Fearne replaces him as Minister for Health. June VGH finally submits handover plan, in fulfilment of the concession milestone. This condition had been waived through the side letter signed on 19 May 30 August: Design plans were to be submitted to government. VGH failed to achieve this milestone by the indicated date and until the concession was transferred to Steward Healthcare. Concession milestone October 13 October: 12 anonymous companies are quietly registered in Jersey, some of which have similar names such as Vitals Global Healthcare Ltd and VGH Malta. Technoline Ian Vassallo mysteriously buys out his boss and purchases Technoline using a €5.14 million loan from Tumuluri and Shaukat Ali through their offshore companies in Jersey. 2017 January 3 January: Daphne Caruana Galizia reports that Ram Tumuluri gave doctors and nursing staff Zara vouchers and free drinks to 'buy' their support. June Ram Tumuluri and Mark Pawley sign a back-dated contract whereby they would both be paid a combined €1 million a year by Vitals in Technoline Only three months after Vassallo took control of Technoline, VGH entrusted the company with the procurement of all its medical supplies in a done deal that they agreed to just 19 days after the takeover