So who has been talking to Yorgen?

Before saying anything else, readers should know that I knew Yorgen Fenech. I did, in fact, speak to him, I have met him several times, and way before, I had been his teacher for a number of years at a private secondary school.

Unlike others, I did not do business with him (which is inherently not a crime of course); I did not travel with him (which was also not a crime, albeit an ethical minefield for public officers and politicians) and never accepted freebies from him (not a day by the lido, not a weekend at The Hilton, not a free meal for two at The Blue Elephant, not even a week at a Hilton hotel... abroad).

In a nutshell, the way everyone is becoming judgemental about anyone linked to Fenech, must consider that before his arrest in December 2019, he was the CEO of one of Malta’s largest companies. He was sought after by countless professionals of both political parties; many courted him and enjoyed being courted by him. After the 17 Black revelations in 2018 of course, many inside the PN’s top brass were wont to cut off ties with him given the Panama link... although not everyone was ready not to entertain his entreaties.

At face value, those who knew him would think of him as a serious businessman and a decent person. Many who thought they knew him relatively well, would have never imagined him getting into the mess he got himself into. It is a dark streak that has shocked many who thought they knew him.

For what I remember during his school-days, the boy was diligent and rather reserved for the son of a magnate. What happened next is everyone’s guess.

But what is clear is that beyond the instant attraction he enjoyed as the CEO of Malta’s largest group of companies, he seems to have had all the time in the world to communicate with people of all types, keeping in contact with everyone he needed over casual lunches, dinners and travel engagements.

More importantly, he managed to create a network of influence which he shored up rather easily because of his wealth and position. And that meant that politicians of every creed sought him out for his patronage, whether it was for his hotel rooms and conference halls for their campaigns, or for their personal ‘needs’. It was perfectly understandable – more so in the Maltese milieu of friends of friends, and where politicians in Malta are naturally obsequious to these magnates because they dish out professional retainers to keep them well oiled, and always happy to serve when the time comes.

Yorgen must have looked to his late charismatic father George, for this style of making friends, because he wanted not only to be like him, but to be better.

George was a towering personality who would command respect with his red-blooded disposition and charisma. For a multi-millionaire, his arrogance was likeable. And his panache for superyachts, the family private jet, and his love of racing horses gave his profile a gilded patina.

Unlike his son, he was not born in unbridled wealth; his connection to his Qormi roots was kept by entertaining politicians and close friends in his so-called ‘ranch’, where he would traditionally cook for his guests. And they included the great and the good of this island: prime ministers, senior ministers and MPs from both sides. He was personal friends to Charles Borg ‘is-sunnara’, the personal driver and a confidant of Eddie Fenech Adami; Borg was a regular at the Marsa horse track. And he famously bought his own vegetables from the Arcadia supermarket down at Portomaso, with which he would cook his minestra for Fenech Adami himself, the prime minister he admired.

George was a dogmatic businessman who kept his family together as one unit, earning friends and foes in his dealings: Joe Gasan was a typical friend; Michael Bianchi was an eminent foe.

At this point, it would have to be said that Yorgen Fenech undoubtedly failed at trying to emulate his father. What went wrong is not for me to say here, though at some point in time, it will have to be written.

What I do know for certain is that the confidants, individuals and acquaintances who shared the same space and time with Fenech, according to the WhatsApp messages they exchanged with him at the time, are facing a bit of a predicament. And that goes for those who should have been politically judicious, most especially in the period that followed with the 17 Black link to the Panama scandal after November 2018.

The fate of Joseph Cuschieri and Edwina Licari at the MFSA is a case in point and shows how Fenech’s messaging and unavoidable patronage will impact on other people’s and careers.

Cuschieri and Licari travelled to Las Vegas in May 2018. They say they knew nothing at the time of Fenech’s involvement in alleged corruption and murder, and I would think they are saying the truth. But what is at stake right now is the ethical quandary for the CEO of one of Malta’s most important regulators.

The closely guarded cache of Fenech’s WhatsApp messages in Europol’s hands, which are also known to the prosecutor’s office, has now been weaponised to be clinically leaked to the media and ignite a trail of chaos and political pandemonium.

Understandably, nothing can lessen the value of uncovering conflicts of interest and potential breaches in ethical standards. But – and a very big but – the fact that Yorgen Fenech messaged a plethora of people of his own volition, and perhaps was acknowledged (be it for good form or because the CEO’s attention was gratifying) does not mean they are indirectly involved in some allegation of corruption or worse, indifference to the assassination of Caruana Galizia.

Leaks are justifiably par for the course for all newsrooms; but selectively, they can be weapons intended at damaging some politicians and people and exclude others. And that makes it an unashamed control of the storyline.

It is bad enough for the foreign press to think that Malta is literally Sodom and Gomorrah, an incestuous society where everybody seems to be culpable of something. Which is in fact the norm, and symptomatic of a small island state where everyone knows everyone, meets everyone and where the nepotistic system is deeply rooted and hard to avoid without clear and fast rules.

We need to address the serious and worrying deficit of justice for Daphne: we cannot afford to leave any loose ends and unanswered questions. But we cannot manipulate that same quest to drag down everyone, even innocent bystanders, in a volley of political gunfire intended to suit one side’s agenda.