The ‘middleman’ who last year flagged the alleged medical visas ‘racket’ is suing the government for damages and requesting to be handed back €36,675 he paid in advance for travel documents which he says were never issued. 

He has also presented a long list of witnesses, including Libyan army colonels and government ministers, to corroborate his claims.

The request was made in a court application filed last Friday by Libyan businessman Khaled Ibrahim Ben Nasan against the Health Ministry, Neville Gafà, the Chief Medical Officer and the Foundation for Medical Services. 

READ: Ministry official denies taking bribes for medical visas

The case revolves around a letter which Mr Ben Nasan had sent last year to then health minister Konrad Mizzi, in which he claimed that Mr Gafà was requesting bribes in order to process medical visas for Libyan soldiers requesting treatment in Malta. His letter had led to a police investigation.

Mr Gafà, who at the time coordinated this scheme on behalf of the Health Ministry, is denying these claims.

In his application, the Libyan businessman, who owns Aurum Tribus Limited, a Malta-based company offering Libyan nationals assistance in receiving treatment overseas, describes himself as having been the “middleman” between the Maltese and the Libyan authorities in this visa scheme. It was halted following the escalation of hostilities in the North African county. 

Mr Ben Nasan is claiming that the Maltese authorities misused the money he had paid in advance for the travel documents, which he says were never issued.

Furthermore, the plaintiff complained that only part of this sum was refunded, meaning his clients were owed €36,675.

For these reasons he is requesting the court to order the Maltese authorities to refund this amount and liquidate damages in his favour. The application was signed by lawyer Leslie Cuschieri.

At the time Alleanza Bidla had warned Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to “clean his mess”, warning that they would be releasing more evidence to corroborate the Libyan man’s claims.

Contacted yesterday, party leader Ivan Grech Mintoff said this was “further testament” to their claims that bribes had been paid.

He said that the Libyan authorities were very upset about the matter as this had caused great distress to patients in urgent need of treatment.

“The timing of the start of these proceedings at the height of an election campaign is a clear sign of their discontent on the manner in which the Maltese government handled the visa issue,” he said.