Court orders police to charge Vitals inquiry expert Miroslava Milenovic
Malta's Court of Appeal overturned an earlier ruling, ordering police to charge Serbian forensic accountant Miroslava Milenovic over alleged Accountancy Act breaches.
Appeal court backs Muscat in challenge over Vitals hospitals inquiry expert
A Maltese court has instructed the Police Commissioner to take the "necessary steps" to charge Serbian expert Miroslava Milenovic over alleged breaches of the Accountancy Act, overturning two earlier decisions that had blocked former prime minister Joseph Muscat's complaint from proceeding, Lovin Malta reports.
Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera of the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that sufficient grounds existed for Milenovic to face charges, including any additional offences that may emerge from a police investigation.
Milenovic had been appointed by Magistrate Gabriella Vella to carry out forensic accounting work as part of the magisterial inquiry into the hospitals concession involving Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Health Care — the same inquiry that later recommended criminal proceedings against a number of individuals, including Muscat himself.
Muscat's challenge centred on whether Milenovic was legally qualified to perform that work in Malta. He argued she had presented herself as a forensic accountant without holding the professional warrant required under Maltese law.
He lodged a police complaint in November 2024. Police dismissed the request in March this year, and a magistrate subsequently rejected his bid to compel further police action in August.
The Court of Appeal found that the earlier ruling had applied too narrow an approach and that the police investigation into the complaint had been flawed. The court held that Milenovic's own reports and declarations, alongside the relevant professional requirements, should have been examined when assessing the allegations.
Judge Scerri Herrera's order now directs the Police Commissioner to pursue charges against Milenovic for the alleged Accountancy Act violations, as well as any other offences identified in the course of the investigation.
Muscat was represented by lawyers Vince Galea, Ishmael Psaila, Charlon Gouder, Luke Dalli, and Etienne Borg Ferranti.
Source: Lovin Malta