€487M claim collapse a government-led humiliation for Malta
Momentum condemns the government’s attempt to spin the devastating International Court of Arbitration ruling as anything other than a total humiliation for Malta. Citizens have been short-changed twice: first by the failed deal, now by the government’s catastrophic legal failure.
The government demanded a primary claim of €487 million refund from Steward, thereby admitting this money was owed to the Maltese people. Instead, the ICC has ordered Malta to pay Steward a net sum of €4.79 million.
This ruling exposes the government’s staggering hypocrisy, a conflict between party-interests and true governance. For years, they defended this deal. Now that their legal bid to reclaim the people’s money has failed miserably, they are attempting to deflect blame. The government agreed that Malta was defrauded, which is why they asked for the €487 million back. Their failure to retrieve these funds is a demonstration of incompetence.
The true victims, as the ICC itself stated, are “the citizens of Malta.”
The Maltese people have been short-changed twice:
- First, by a “dubious” and “flawed” concession that delivered no hospital improvements.
- Second, by their own government’s failure, which now results in taxpayers paying even more to the operators who failed them.
Momentum’s Carmel Asciak stated: “This is not a political victory, despite the government’s attempted spin. This outcome confirms that the Maltese people have been massively short-changed, and public finances were mismanaged throughout this concession. This settlement is a damning institutional failure and not a political victory the government should be using to try to win back political points.”
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