A former prime minister of Malta pleaded not guilty on Tuesday alongside two of his aides to bribery and other charges involving a hospital corruption case.
Joseph Muscat, who was the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, was met by a large group of his supporters Tuesday as he entered the courthouse in the capital, Valletta, local news media reported.
His former chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi also pleaded not guilty to the charges. All three were charged in connection with a hospital corruption scandal involving a deal to privatize the management of three of the country's hospitals.
Others connected to the case, including Chris Fearne, a former deputy prime minister, and Edward Scicluna, the governor of Central Bank of Malta, are expected to be in court Wednesday.
Included among the charges they are facing are money laundering, conspiracy and fraud, stemming from the hospitals' privatization.
The hospitals in question came under private management in 2015, according to The Associated Press, and their management was transferred to another company in 2018.
A court voided that transfer in 2023, citing fraud, after a case was filed by a former opposition leader. The court's ruling, AP said, led to a drop in support for the governing Labor Party.
According to reporting by Politico, Fearne was set to be appointed as Malta's next European commissioner, but he resigned from government after the charges against him were filed.
Some officials are questioning whether the current court case was timed to influence the European Parliament elections where the Labour Party holds four of Malta's six seats.
Prime Minister Robert Abela, who, like Muscat, is a member of the Labour Party, questioned why, after four years, the investigation had "concluded precisely with the opening for the candidacy for the European Parliament elections."
The island country of Malta is in the Mediterranean Sea and is home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites. It has had a string of foreign rulers, including the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, French and British.
