Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520224
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2024 NEWS Fearne's pre-emptive strike CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "I am not privy to the inquiry's conclusions but from what I am gathering the magistrate rec- ommended that action be taken against anyone who was involved in this deal irrespective of whether they are suspected of the serious crime of corruption and money laundering, or signed off on doc- uments in their normal course of duty," a minister said. The first sign of this wide net came last Thursday when Dep- uty Prime Minister Chris Fearne offered the Labour Party parlia- mentary group his resignation if he was suspected of wrongdoing by the magistrate. He was given a resounding applause instead. "It was shocking and sad to hear that Chris Fearne, whom everyone could vouch for, should be indicat- ed as a suspect when he had noth- ing to do with the deal," another minister said. They added: "Hear- ing his voice crack as he spoke just amplified the unfairness of having a politician like him who is ap- proaching the final lap of his po- litical career being put in the same basket as those directly involved in the deal." Fearne's pre-emptive strike But another minister described Fearne's move as a pre-emptive strike to try and "dictate the narra- tive" if he is charged. On Friday then Fearne went pub- lic on Facebook with the predica- ment that he could be charged, in- sisting he did nothing wrong and had nothing to fear. While empha- sising his respect towards the ju- diciary in a telling remark, Fearne insisted he was only speaking for himself. Sources close to the PL interpreted Fearne's comment as a way of distancing himself from former prime minister Joseph Muscat, former minister Konrad Mizzi and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri. It is unlikely Fearne will be charged with the more serious crimes that sources have suggest- ed will be levelled against Muscat, Mizzi and Schembri. Indeed, Fearne and Central Bank of Malta governor Edward Sciclu- na, the former finance minister when the deal was struck and the concession transferred to Stew- ard Health Care, could be charged with dereliction of duty. The two men had not been flagged by the National Audit Of- fice in its broad three-part inves- tigation into the hospitals deal. The NAO had also commented on how Mizzi continued dealing with Vitals and Steward even though he was no longer health minister after 2016. The NAO also found that Mizzi had negotiated and concluded side agreements with Steward behind Fearne's back. In a telling incident flagged by the NAO, Steward CEO Armin Ernst had emailed Keith Schembri for guidance since Fearne was on his back asking for an update in the negotiations that were being led by Mizzi. Public service paralysis But the inquiry is likely to rec- ommend criminal action be taken against several high-ranking pub- lic officers, apart from politicians, and this is cause for administrative concern. A minister spoke to MaltaToday about the fear of paralysis if public officials are charged because they signed off on documents. "This will undoubtedly affect how civil servants discharge their duty and it risks leading to over caution that could stifle govern- ment work," they said. "I already have difficulty convincing my per- manent secretary to get certain things done, let alone if someone is charged because they would have signed off on documents without being privy to the mess someone else is involved in." On Friday, the Prime Minister hinted at this fear in comments he gave to journalists after exiting the law courts where he is party to a law suit filed by the Nationalist Party to recover the €400 million spent by government on the now defunct deal. Abela said he would use his dis- cretion as to whether public of- ficials should be removed on the basis of recommendations for prosecution made by the inquiry, if they "are only guilty of working for different administrations and were loyal servants to the State." The Prime Minister also insist- ed that the political decision as to whether a minister should resign was at his discretion. Abela said he would be using that discretion "in favour of all those who work honestly and with integrity to- wards implementing the electoral manifesto." Muscat tries to set agenda The inquiry led by Magistrate Gabriella Vella started in 2019 on the initiative of rule of law NGO Repubblika. It was initially tasked to look into the handling of the hospitals deal by former ministers Chris Cardona, Edward Scicluna and Konrad Mizzi. However, subsequent revelations in the media implicated Joseph Muscat in a money trail with a Swiss company that had links to Steward. On the back of this devel- opment, the magistrate is under- stood to have widened the scope of her investigation that culmi- nated in a police raid on Muscat's Burmarrad house in January 2022. Muscat has denied any wrong- doing and maintained that all con- sultancy work was legitimate and declared. On Friday, in an attempt to set the agenda, Muscat wrote to the Police Commissioner to tell him he was willing to go to the depot to answer any questions he may have. There is growing expectation that the police will at some point be calling in for questioning the suspects indicated by the magis- trate and it is very likely they will be doing so under caution. Flagship of failure The transfer of three state hospi- tals – St Luke's, Karin Grech and Gozo General – to Vitals Global Healthcare, an obscure compa- ny, took place in 2015 after gov- ernment issued an international request for proposals. However, it had emerged that some of the Steward Health Care CEO Armin Ernst shaking hands with then prime minister Joseph Muscat in this undated photo. Ernst was first employed by VGH when they were concessionaires but left before the company went belly up. He then re-appeared as the CEO of Steward that took over the concession agreement. Former Repubblika president Robert Aquilina (left) and the NGO's lawyer Jason Azzopardi had presented a detailed request in 2019 in which they asked for a magisterial inquiry into the hospitals deal.