Court rejects Times' request for hospitals deal documents

An appeals court has rejected Times of Malta’s request for access to documentation shedding light on the process leading to the controversial partial sale of three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH).
In a three-year battle, Times of Malta has sought access through Freedom of Information (FOI) channels to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed with a consortium of investors behind VGH before the lucrative billion-euro contract even went to a public tender.
The signing of the MoU prior to the tender has led to accusations that the awarding of the contract to Vitals, whose ownership was hidden behind shell companies in foreign jurisdiction, was a done deal.
Malta Enterprise insists the MoU was non-binding and had no impact on the awarding of the tender to VGH, which sold the concession just two years later, without ever filing any accounts with the Malta Financial Services Authority.
Malta Enterprise, the government agency that oversaw the signing of the MoU, has refused to even grant the Data Commissioner, who adjudicates FOI requests, access to the documents.

This refusal meant the Data Commissioner was not even able to assess the merits of Times of...