We thank The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project for their exceptional reporting. We cannot elaborate further at this stage due to on-going law enforcement action. Here is our statement in response. https://lnkd.in/gaKrig3i
???? NEW: Steward, a U.S. healthcare company at the center of Malta’s biggest-ever corruption scandal, paid over $7 million to British intelligence firms for work that included covert surveillance and digging up dirt on its critics. One target of a firm hired by Steward was Malta’s former minister of health, who had clashed with Steward over its implementation of a contract to manage and renovate Maltese hospitals. A false story claiming he had accepted a large bribe was planted in the media. Another — a British businessman who ran a financial research company that issued a negative report about the healthcare firm — was surveilled in his home. Payments for the intelligence fees were made via Steward’s division, which was largely funded by Maltese taxpayer money. Steward did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the private intelligence work it funded, but had previously denied wrongdoing in relation to the hospital deal. While the hospital scandal has rocked Malta to its core, Steward’s efforts to silence its critics have remained unreported until now. Read more in our investigation https://lnkd.in/eeBcHzrR #malta #healthcare #hospital #corruption #spy #intelligence #surveillance