Office for special inquiring magistrate focused on corruption needed
Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi on Tuesday called for the establishment of an office for a special inquiring magistrate exclusively focused on the investigation and prosecution of cases involving allegations of corruption.
Dr Azzopardi, who was speaking during the adjournment in Parliament, made his call in the wake of revelations related to the sale of three Maltese hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare in 2015.
That year, VGH had been awarded a 30-year concession to operate Karin Grech Hospital, Gozo General Hospital, and St Luke’s Hospital, with the sole discretion to extend that concession for a period of 99 years.
The deal would have seen VGH receive €70 million a year for the operation of the three hospitals, apart from the wages of each employee at the hospitals, €1.2 million for a medical school in Gozo, and €1 million a year for an air ambulance service.
Dr Azzopardi also made reference to allegations published this week that VGH had also sought to supplement its earnings by making money from the sale of cancer medication after purchasing the company Mtrace plc which provided this medication at a 25% mark-up.
Dr Azzopardi outlined the sequence of memoranda of...