Malta’s Police Commissioner indirectly confirmed that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is under investigation, adding a new layer to the long-running probes surrounding the Labour administration that governed from 2013 to 2020. While not naming Muscat explicitly in his televised remarks, the police chief acknowledged that inquiries are ongoing into senior political figures linked to the controversial 2015 hospitals concession, and noted that no one is above the law when evidence warrants action. The comments were widely interpreted as confirmation that Muscat, who resigned in January 2020 amid the fallout from the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation, remains a subject of criminal inquiries related to the Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Healthcare deals.
Muscat was formally charged in May 2024 with money laundering, soliciting bribes, and criminal association, alongside his former chief of staff Keith Schembri and former health minister Konrad Mizzi, following a four-year magisterial inquiry into a €4 billion contract for the management of three hospitals. The inquiry, instigated by rule-of-law NGO Repubblika, found foul play in how the government awarded the contract to Vitals Global Healthcare, a previously unknown company with no health sector experience, which later transferred the concession to U.S.-based Steward Healthcare. A Maltese civil court annulled the deal in 2023 citing fraud and collusion between the concessionaires and senior political officials in Muscat’s administration.
Muscat has pleaded “absolutely not guilty” to all charges and maintains that payments he received after leaving office were for legitimate consultancy work unrelated to the hospitals contract. Prosecutors allege that millions flowed to political consultants and that individuals behind the privatization used taxpayer money to buy personal and luxury items, funneling funds to themselves and relatives under the guise of loans, salaries, or consultancy fees. A 1,200-page magisterial inquiry report, accompanied by 78 boxes of evidence, described a “massive diversion” of public funds and implicated dozens of individuals and companies. 0b78f85151b1
The police chief’s indirect confirmation comes as freeze orders remain in place against Muscat, Schembri, and Mizzi, prohibiting each from transferring assets up to €30 million pending the outcome of the case. Central Bank Governor Edward Scicluna and former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne also face lesser charges including fraud and misappropriation connected to the same contract.
Muscat’s legal troubles intersect with the broader political crisis that began after the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who had been investigating the hospitals deal and other alleged corruption. Although Muscat was not accused of involvement in the murder, the scandal led to daily protests and his eventual resignation after businessman Yorgen Fenech was charged as an accomplice. The case continues to unfold in Valletta’s courts, with Muscat’s supporters staging demonstrations outside the courthouse while prosecutors pursue what they describe as one of Malta’s largest corruption cases.
