Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521091
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 MAY 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Of the individuals to be charged next Tuesday, Schem- bri, Mizzi and former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat are facing the most serious charg- es, amongst them money laun- dering, bribery and trading in influence, as well as creating or associating with a criminal or- ganisation. The charges follow the con- clusion of a magisterial inquiry set in motion by NGO Repub- blika in 2019. Both Mizzi and Schembri are arguing that they had not been spoken to before being charged, despite the nature of the charges requiring that an explanation be provided by the suspect before charges are pressed. They also argued that they had not received "effective dis- closure" of the prosecution's evidence against them. Al- though the law does not grant this right in cases where the suspect is not being charged under arrest, just over a week ago, a judge decided that Jo- seph Muscat should receive disclosure of the parts of the inquiry in which he is men- tioned. The prosecution had provid- ed Mizzi and Schembri with copies of the inquiry report, in line with a court order to that effect, but not the appendices which the report makes refer- ence to. In her reply the Attorney General argued that the mag- istrate had been clear in saying that all the prosecution was to make available to the defend- ants was the proces verbal and any other material evidence in the police's possession, which may have emerged from paral- lel investigations. All the remaining documen- tation would be exhibited in court as part of the magisterial inquiry, said the AG. The defence lawyers are in- sisting that the Criminal Code states that all relevant evidence should have been disclosed to their clients as soon as they be- came suspects. The right to full disclosure was also protected by the Eu- ropean Convention on Human Rights as part of the right to a fair trial, Mizzi and Schembri are arguing. Calling upon the AG and the Police Commissioner to im- mediately grant them "full dis- closure" without further delay, the suspects warned that they would be holding them respon- sible for resulting damages, and declared their intention to file constitutional proceedings should the situation not be rem- edied with the required haste. Schembri and Mizzi have al- so filed replies to Repubblika's request that it be admitted as an injured party in the crimi- nal cases against them, arguing that this was a legal manouevre by the NGO in order to be in- volved in proceedings in which it had no legal juridical interest. The replies state that Repub- blika's allegations had no foun- dation in fact or law and go on to describe them as "more akin to Aesop's fables" than a judi- cial protest. Lawyers Edward Gatt, Mark Vassallo and Shaun Zammit signed the judicial acts. Schembri, Mizzi insist evidence should have been disclosed when they became suspects Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg argued that the magistrate had been clear in saying that all the prosecution was to make available to the defendants was the proces verbal and any other material evidence in the police's possession, which may have emerged from parallel investigations MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt SUPPORTERS of former prime minis- ter Joseph Muscat will be organising a solidarity march in Valletta on the day he is criminally charged in court. The former Labour leader will be charged with money laundering, fraud and making fraudulent gain, as well as conspiracy to commit an offence pun- ishable by imprisonment for more than four years and participating in a crim- inal organisation with more than 10 members on Tuesday 28 May. Muscat will be charged together with former minister Konrad Mizzi, for- mer OPM chief of staff Keith Schem- bri, Clarence John Conger-Thompson, Christopher Spiteri, Jonathan Vel- la, David-Joseph Meli, Ivan Vassallo, Mario Victor Gatt, Brian Bondin, Adri- an Hillman, Peter Sladden, Brian Ton- na, Karl Cini and companies Sciacca Grill Ltd, Kasco Engineering Company Ltd, FSV Ltd and MTrace p.l.c. Magistrate Rachel Montebello has been assigned to preside over the com- pilation of evidence. The charges come after Magistrate Gabriella Vella concluded her inquiry into the Vitals hospitals deal and passed on the findings to the Attorney General. The former PM has maintained his innocence, saying he will prove charg- es against him were false when he is hauled to court. In an interview with Labour loyalist Manuel Cuschieri last week, he revealed that an Indian national is the whistle- blower upon whom allegations against him have been based. Muscat, who was hosted on Labour Party radio station One, said the Indi- an national had told the magistrate that "he had heard someone else, say some- thing about me". Muscat claimed these declarations, which he has seen in the parts of the magisterial inquiry shown to him, "have not been backed up, and that there is no documentation presented on such alle- gations. Manuel... there isn't one shred of paper." On Sunday, it was revealed Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, and Konrad Mizzi are suspected to have received bribes from a €1 million political sup- port fund created by Steward Health Care. The funds were held by Accutor AG, a Swiss company that received €3.6 million from Steward Healthcare during the period when it took over the 30-year concession of three Mal- tese state hospitals from Vitals Global Healthcare. The magisterial inquiry Magistrate Gabriella Vella, who was investigating the sale of three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, concluded her report and passed it on to the Attorney General last week. The inquiry was initiated in 2019 on Repubblika's initiative. Joseph Muscat had tried to remove the magistrate from the inquiry, insisting she had a conflict because her relatives were publicly critical of him. He also complained of constant leaks from the inquiry and decried the magistrate's re- fusal to let him testify before her. In January 2022, as part of the inquiry, police officers searched Muscat's Bur- marrad home and seized several elec- tronic devices. Muscat supporters to hold 'solidarity' march on day he is criminally charged Supporters of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will hold solidarity march on day he is criminally charged in connection to the hospitals deal