Middleman insists promise of bail for Caruana Galizia killers came from Keith Schembri

The middleman who contracted Daphne Caruana Galizia’s three killers is certain that a promise of bail made to them by a Kenneth Camilleri was coming from Keith Schembri.

Middleman Melvin Theuma had even used Keith’s name in conversations with alleged murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech.

Theuma was testifying on Thursday in the compilation of evidence against Fenech, during which recordings of conversations made by Theuma, started being heard.

Theuma clarified that although in the recordings he is heard saying that Keith told him to pass on the message to Caruana Galizia’s killers, it was Camilleri who spoke to him.
"I got it in my head that Keith [Schembri] was passing on this information to Kenneth Camilleri. After all, Yorgen Fenech did not know Kenneth… Kenneth told me this, not Keith. I just associated Kenneth with Keith," Theuma said.

Kenneth Camilleri had formed part of the then prime minister Joseph Muscat’s security detail and was a close associate of the former chief of staff Keith Schembri.

The incident goes back to 22 October 2018 when Theuma says Camilleri told him to pass on the message that the Degiorgios would get their pledge and a million euro each.

Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat were arrested in December 2017 and accused of planting and detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia two months earlier.

Mario Degiorgio, a brother to the Degiorgios, had been pestering Theuma about the promise of bail for his siblings.

Theuma told the court that he had been faced with a "huge problem", receiving WhatsApp messages from Mario Degiorgio at 8am in the morning where the latter asked him whether he was sure his brothers would get bail. 

Theuma said that he even considered taking Mario Degiorgio to Mellieħa to Keith Schembri's house because he didn't want to shoulder responsibility for guaranteeing bail himself.

Theuma said that he eventually told Mario Degiorgio that he had been played with guaranteeing bail on 22 October because it clearly was a promise that would not be kept.

"Keith Schembri hadn't even fixed his own court issues, so how could he guarantee that he could solve another's problems?" Theuma testified.

In the recording played in court today, Theuma is heard saying: "Kenneth fell from the sky? I don't think he fell from the sky."

The recording was done in Theuma’s car when he went to the airport to pick up Fenech and his children.

Theuma told Fenech that the information he received from Kenneth, likely came from Keith Schembri. In the recording, Fenech did not seem to have entertained the idea, or at least, did not seem to be acknowledging it. The sound was faint and while Theuma's voice was clear, Fenech's not so much.

Very faintly, the words 'pledge' and 'Keith' can be heard in the recording. "Here I am telling Yorgen that Keith Schembri told Kenneth Camilleri that the Degiorgios will get the pledge and a million each," Theuma clarified in court.

Theuma said he started recording his conversations with Fenech when Vincent Muscat started talking to the police in 2018. 

Asked by the magistrate what Fenech would tell him when he mentioned Keith Schembri, Theuma said “Yorgen always told me that he was getting information from Keith.”

Previous sittings

In the last sitting, a day before Christmas Eve, Fenech was denied bail by Magistrate Rachel Montebello.

Fenech is being charged with complicity to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, complicity in the execution of an explosion, and being part of a criminal organisation.

In the previous hearing, the court heard how former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri’s office in Castille was only searched by the police 10 days after he had been arrested and interrogated for 50 hours.

The revelation came from court testimony given by Keith Arnaud, the lead investigator in the case. Arnaud was being cross-examined by Fenech's defence team of Fenech.

The court heard Arnaud testify that when Schembri was arrested, his office in Castille was not sealed by the police. Schembri had already resigned his public post by then and the police relied on Schembri's successor, Mark Farrugia's claim, that the office was closed and nobody was allowed to enter the moment Schembri was arrested.

Under cross-examination by parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who is appearing for the Caruana Galizia family, Arnaud said that the police had asked Schembri for his cloud and email passwords but these were not given because of sensitive work information.

Schembri told police that he lost his phone and Arnaud confirmed in court that the police had asked for technical data to be able to locate the last known whereabouts of the phone. It is as yet unknown whether his phone has been located by the police.

Fenech, a Tumas Group shareholder, spent Christmas and the New Year in jail after the court ruled that it was not satisfied justice would be served if bail is granted, given that multiple investigations were ongoing.

In previous sittings, the court head how Fenech had planned an escape to Tunis, having discussed it with his brother, Franco, at Fenech’s doctor Adrian Vella’s farmhouse. Police had also found €7,000 in cash on Fenech's boat, Gio, when he was arrested in November as the boat was leaving the Portomaso marina.

Lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri are appearing for Fenech. Police Inspector Keith Arnaud is prosecuting.