LIVE: Hospitals case continues against Chris Fearne, Edward Scicluna and 13 others

The compilation of evidence against Chris Fearne, Edward Scicluna and 13 others in relation to the Vitals hospital concession continues on Tuesday.Charged alongside Fearne and Scicluna are former permanent secretaries Alfred Camilleri and Joseph

By: independent.com.mt

Jul 02 2024
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LIVE: Hospitals case continues

The compilation of evidence against Chris Fearne, Edward Scicluna and 13 others in relation to the Vitals hospital concession continues on Tuesday.

Charged alongside Fearne and Scicluna are former permanent secretaries Alfred Camilleri and Joseph Rapa, current permanent secretary Ronald Mizzi, adjudication committee members James Camenzuli, Manuel Castagna, and Robert Borg, financial controller Kenneth Deguara, and five lawyers: Kevin Deguara, Jean Carl Farrugia, Aron Mifsud Bonnici, Deborah Anne Chappell, and Bradley Gatt.

The 15 defendants are charged with fraud, with Fearne and Scicluna being additionally accused of misappropriation and making fraudulent gain by abusing their position. Money laundering is also amongst the charges facing other defendants.

Magistrate Leonard Caruana will be presiding over the arraignment, which is set to begin at around 11am.

The sitting comes a day after media reports spoke about a campaign to smear Fearne with "fake" corruption claims. The Times of Malta said that the campaign was part of a wider operation that had been authorised by Steward to target perceived opponents of the company.

Fearne said Tuesday he will be requesting the police to investigate what he described as a heinous frame-up against him.

11:26: Lawyer Michael Sciriha is the first to ask questions, and he asks Deguara to detail his investigations into the concession.

Deguara says that the NAO issued three reports on the concession, starting from the tendering process to when the concession passed on to Steward.

The three reports were published in January 2020, December 2021 and May 2023 respectively, and an annex was published in July 2020.

Sciriha wants to know exactly what the NAO’s investigation focused on. Deguara replies that his assignment is based on aspects of good governance. This can cover public procurement, which in this case was a very important aspect, he says, but the emphasis was on good governance – how well the resources were used, how well procedures were followed, and so on.

11:23: Auditor General Charles Deguara is the first witness to take the stand. He has been summoned by a number of the defendants, including Fearne.

Deguara’s National Audit Office had led an extensive investigation into the hospitals concession.

11:16: Good morning and thank you for joining us for this live commentary. Magistrate Leonard Caruana has entered the court room here in Valletta and is currently doing a roll call of the army of defence lawyers and their respective clients.