US Justice Department wants to speak to Shaukat Ali, key player in Vitals deal

The US Department of Justice wants to speak to Shaukat Ali, the man believed to have been the secret majority owner of Vitals Global Healthcare, a court heard on Monday morning. Ali, a Pakistani businessman with Maltese citizenship, was arraigned in Malta last July, accused of corruption, money laundering, and other crimes in connection with the Vitals deal to privatise three state hospitals. Steward had taken over the Vitals hospital contract in Malta before it was declared fraudulent and annulled by the courts. Documents unearthed by investigators in connection with the Malta case showed Ali's myriad links to the hospitals deal. While he was ostensibly a 'consultant' for Vitals, his wife was a director of Vitals’ holding company, Bluestone Investments.