Joseph Muscat’s name crops up in recordings between Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma

In secret recordings of conversations between Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma, the former says Keith Schembri was 'broken' by Daphne Caruana Galizia's story that alleged he would die in three months

Yorgen Fenech stands charged with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder
Yorgen Fenech stands charged with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder

Updated at 3:05pm with Silvio Valletta statement

Joseph Muscat’s name cropped in recorded conversations between Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma but the context is unclear.

In a recording played in court today, Fenech is heard saying: “They told me that they have got to it. They told me a hundred times they would capture her. All of them were pissed off including Joseph and everyone else.”

Theuma confirmed in court that ‘Joseph’ was a reference to former prime minister Joseph Muscat but the context of the conversation is unclear.

Reporters do not have access to the full transcripts of the voice recordings, which makes it hard to contextualise certain questions and answers.

In today’s sitting, it emerged that Fenech had told his fixer, Melvin Theuma, that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s story that Keith Schembri was going to die had broken the man.

The conversation took place at Level 21 in the Portomaso business tower.

“She broke him... it emerged in public that in three months’ time he'd die... I'd throw her from here to the ground and I don't care about the children,” Fenech’s voice is heard saying.

The reference was to several stories that Caruana Galizia carried on her blog in November and December 2016 in which she alleged that Keith Schembri had a tumour in his eye and would die over a matter of months. She had also claimed that Schembri sought treatment in the US.

Schembri had missed out on official duties during the period because of illness. MaltaToday revealed last December that Yorgen Fenech had paid for Schembri’s medical treatment at the Mayo Cinic in the US.

The recording forms part of the continuation of the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech, who stands charged of masterminding the murder of Caruana Galizia.

Theuma, who acted as the middleman in the murder, was given a presidential pardon to tell all.

In today’s sitting, Theuma said that panic ensued when one of the three men who were arrested in connection with Caruana Galizia murder started speaking sometime around March 2018.

Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, was seeking, through his lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, a presidential pardon to tell all he knew about the murder.

Theuma feared betrayal

Theuma said he feared betrayal because the murder suspects only knew him and were not aware of Yorgen Fenech’s involvement.

Theuma told the court that Keith Schembri knew everything from Fenech and the former chief of staff panicked when Theuma became jittery. “Keith panicked and he sent Kenneth to calm me down,” Theuma said.

Kenneth, was a Kenneth Camilleri, who worked at Castille and who visited Theuma, telling him to inform the Degiorgio brothers that they would be granted bail and a €1 million each.

Theuma reached the conclusion that given Camilleri’s closeness to Keith Schembri, the former was sent to him by Schembri.

In another recording, Fenech claimed that Schembri, at the prime minister’s behest, had approached former judge Antonio Mizzi to arrange for bail to be given to the three accused.

Bomb built by tal-Maksar

Theuma also told the court that Yorgen Fenech told him that the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia was constructed by “tal-Maksar”.

The reference is to the Żebbuġ brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, known by the family nickname Tal-Maksar.

In the recordings, former deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta is referred to as “Valletta l-oħxon” and Theuma claims that Valletta used to inform Fenech of progress on the Caruana Galizia murder case.The compilation of evidence against the man suspected of being behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder is continuing in court this morning.

Yorgen Fenech stands charged of masterminding the car bomb assassination of Caruana Galizia in October 2016.

Fenech, who was arrested by police in November 2019, is the owner of the secret Dubai company 17 Black and a shareholder of the Electrogas power station.

Statement by Silvio Valletta

The former deputy police chief has denied claims that he passed on information on the Caruana Galizia murder case to third parties during his time in the police force.

“I categorically deny that I ever passed on information on the Daphne Caruana Galizia case to third parties. The only information that I passed on was in line with my duty and I could have only done this before 13 June 2018, because after this date I was no longer involved in the investigation,” Valletta said in a statement.

13:20 The court is adjourned and the next sitting is on 13 February at 10:00am. Kurt Sansone
13:17 Theuma's testimony is suspended. The sitting is drawing to a close. The court says it is unhappy with the fact that there are 130 recordings. Arnaud says that there are many blank recordings and duplicates. Kurt Sansone
13:16 Theuma says he does not know who ‘they’ refers to. Kurt Sansone
13:12 “Yorgen had warned of the risk that ‘they’ would throw acid on the face of the wife and daughter of Vince Muscat. It is not clear who ‘they’ refers to,” Jason Azzopardi asks. Kurt Sansone
13:11 Jason Azzopardi reads from the transcript. Kurt Sansone
13:09 Theuma continues answering about how Yorgen Fenech told him that Keith Schembri had gone checking about the bail with Judge Antonio Mizzi “because of ix-xiħ”. The words ‘ix-xiħ’ refer to Joseph Muscat. Kurt Sansone
13:07 Theuma says the words were said at Level 21, the Portomaso business tower, which is very high up. Kurt Sansone
13:07 Azzopardi asks about the recording in which reference was made to a story about Keith Schembri on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s blog that implied Schembri would die in three months. The lawyer asks about the words ‘I'd throw her from here to the ground’. Kurt Sansone
13:02 Azzopardi suggests that Theuma had told Fenech that “you, like, me are a middleman” but Theuma denies having said these words. Kurt Sansone
13:01 Azzopardi asks whether someone had told Fenech to be careful of him [Theuma] because he talks. Theuma says he is not aware of this. “Maybe Yorgen didn't tell me about it.” Kurt Sansone
13:00 Theuma: “He told me about it because I took him to the airport afterwards.” Kurt Sansone
13:00 The reference is to Joseph Muscat’s birthday party, during which the former prime minister was gifted three bottles of Petrus wined by Fenech, who was invited to the party. Kurt Sansone
12:59 Azzopardi: “In February last year, you and Fenech were good friends. It emerged in public that a party was held at Girgenti Palace…” Kurt Sansone
12:53 “To Joseph Muscat,” Theuma replies. The recording was of Yorgen Fenech. Kurt Sansone
12:52 Jason Azzopardi refers to the part in the recoding where the words ‘They were angry, Joseph and everyone,’ were used. “Who was he referring to?” Kurt Sansone
12:51 Theuma says that Keith Schembri had informed Yorgen Fenech that the police had arrived at a suspect in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder. “Yorgen told me that Keith Schembri had informed him of this.” Kurt Sansone
12:49 Theuma tells the court he does not know who the bigwigs are. Kurt Sansone
12:48 Theuma says that Vince Muscat was giving the police the impression that he had information on seven murders with the caveat that he says nothing on the HSBC robbery because there were "bigwigs involved" in that. Kurt Sansone
12:47 Theuma says that Yorgen sent him an SMS message telling him and someone else to "go," but he didn't know who else he was referring to. The Maksar clan had constructed the bomb, Yorgen had told him. Kurt Sansone
12:46 Lawyer Jason Azzopardi cross-examines. He asks about Maksar, the Agius family from Żebbuġ. Kurt Sansone
12:41 Theuma tells the court that Yorgen Fenech had told him that lawyer Arthur Azzopardi went with murder suspect Vince Muscat to the depot to reveal facts about “seven other bombings” and he was unhappy about this. Kurt Sansone
12:40 Defence lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran suggests that the witness was “coached”. He is rebuked by the magistrate. Kurt Sansone
12:39 The court is unhappy with the witness jumping from one subject to another. Kurt Sansone
12:38 “We didn't use names when talking. Keith knew everything from Yorgen, Keith panicked and he sent Kenneth to calm me down,” Theuma says. Kurt Sansone
12:38 Theuma tells the court that Keith Schembri was panicked over the Kenneth bail issue. The court cannot understand how he made this connection. Kurt Sansone
12:30 Theuma tells the court that he didn't know Maksar, but had concluded that he should go speak to them. Maksar is the family nickname of brothers Adrian and Robert Agius from Żebbuġ. They had been briefly detained in December 2017 when police made 10 arrests in relation to the Caruana Galizia murder. They were later released and have not been charged. Kurt Sansone
12:27 The narrative is fragmented because the recordings are being heard piecemeal. Reporters do not have copies of the recording transcripts to be able to follow properly. The prosecution will begin its cross-examination on the last recording. Kurt Sansone
12:22 The recording plays on. "She broke him... it emerged in public that in three months’ time he'd die... I'd throw her from here to the ground and I don't care about the children," a voice on the recording is heard saying. Kurt Sansone
12:16 On agreement by the parties, the court orders that a new transcript be made for reference purposes. Meanwhile, the recording plays on. Kurt Sansone
12:14 Azzopardi points out that the recording mentions "Maksar" and the transcript doesn't. The court hears the recording again. The observation is confirmed by the court. Kurt Sansone
12:08 The parties are fixing something on the recording transcript. Kurt Sansone
12:07 “I don't know. But later on he refers to Keith Schembri and going through fire,” Theuma replies. Kurt Sansone
12:06 Inspector Keith Arnaud asks Theuma what Fenech was referring to. Kurt Sansone
12:05 Yorgen Fenech is heard saying on the recording: “God forbid I tell you who told me.” Kurt Sansone
12:01 The court orders another recording to be played. Kurt Sansone
12:00 The defence reserves its cross-examination on this part of the tape. Kurt Sansone
12:00 Theuma says that Johann had passed on his mobile to him and he heard Kenneth say that nobody knew about him [Theuma]. Theuma adds that he hadn't asked Kenneth where the paper with the phone numbers on it came from. Kurt Sansone
11:59 Camilleri: “Why didn't you record Kenneth? He told you that you were the mandant?” Kurt Sansone
11:56 Theuma: “Johann called me and told me that he would be meeting me the next day. I thought it was because of an argument I had with Yorgen [over the betrayal].” Kurt Sansone
11:55 Lawyer Marion Camilleri: “You are telling us that this meeting with Johann and Kenneth took place. How did it get arranged?” Kurt Sansone
11:54 The witness is evasive when asked whether Johann Cremona and Keith Schembri knew each other. Kurt Sansone
11:53 “After the Kenneth Camilleri meeting, I started to meet Johann Cremona every day. He would be patient and listen to my problems. Johann was like a postman. He would pass on messages to Yorgen,” says Theuma. Kurt Sansone
11:53 Theuma says he hadn't asked Kenneth about where he got the numbers, but felt comfortable enough to indicate Fenech as the mastermind. Kurt Sansone
11:52 Theuma says that Yorgen had never given him any information about Kenneth. “Yorgen had sworn to me that he didn't know Kenneth Camilleri… later Yorgen confirmed that Keith Schembri had sent Kenneth.” Kurt Sansone
11:50 Theuma says that Johann Cremona had brought Kenneth to his house. “This Kenneth knew everything,” he says, agreeing to a suggestion by the court. “I knew him as a traffic police man. I knew his face.” Kurt Sansone
11:45 She asks him about Kenneth, saying that he assumed he worked at Castille. "I assumed he worked at Castille because he and Keith are very close." Kurt Sansone
11:44 Yorgen Fenech’s lawyer, Marion Camilleri, is now cross-examining the Theuma. Kurt Sansone
11:43 The court suggests that questions only be made on the recordings heard so far. The parties do not object. Kurt Sansone
11:42 The sitting has resumed. Kurt Sansone
11:28 The magistrate retires to her chambers while technical issues are being fixed. Kurt Sansone
11:26 The court is about to hear another recording. Kurt Sansone
11:26 “There were many meals,” replies Theuma. He cannot recall the bag in question. Kurt Sansone
11:26 Azzopardi confronts the witness about a particular bag. The lawyer says there was a meal at Fenech's villa in Żebbuġ. “Eight people were present. Do you remember this?” Kurt Sansone
11:24 Azzopardi had been abroad and directed him to call Nationalist MP and lawyer Karol Aquilina. “Then my battery died and I went to sleep and decided not to do it. That was the date,” Theuma tells the court. Kurt Sansone
11:23 With reference to the date of betrayal, the witness is now telling the court that he had called lawyer Jason Azzopardi and told him he wanted to speak to him about the big case. Kurt Sansone
11:22 Theuma says he was unaware of how many court cases Schembri had. Kurt Sansone
11:22 Theuma is asked about a part of a recording where he says "tiegħu ma jistax jeħlisha". Theuma says he was referring to a court case by Keith Schembri. "I don't think it was a parking ticket," quips the lawyer. Kurt Sansone
11:10 Theuma tells the court that Yorgen Fenech kept his word and would continue to help the three men accused of the murder until they got bail. “On the Monday I went to collect €22,000 from Portomaso,” he says. Kurt Sansone
11:09 Theuma says he never recorded any conversations with the Degiorgio brothers. Kurt Sansone
11:08 The lawyer is going through Theuma’s testimony with a fine-toothed comb. Kurt Sansone
11:08 Theuma could not say whether there was a WhatsApp chat between Schembri, Joseph Muscat and Yorgen Fenech, when asked about the matter. Kurt Sansone
11:07 “They were great friends,” Theuma replies. Kurt Sansone
11:07 Azzopardi quotes from the recording: “Kenneth ma waqax mis-sema. How did you reach the conclusion that it was Keith Schembri?” Kurt Sansone
11:05 “I assure you that if I had the contact of Keith Schembri I would not have gone through Yorgen Fenech but gone directly,” Theuma says. Kurt Sansone
11:01 Azzopardi asks him whether he was incredulous or whether it was par for the course, but the question is disallowed by the court. Kurt Sansone
11:00 Ex-deputy police chief Silvio Valletta is referred to as “Valletta l-oħxon” in the recordings. Kurt Sansone
11:00 Azzopardi asks Theuma where the information that Yorgen Fenech was communicating to him had come from. “From Keith Schembri and Mr Valletta [the ex-deputy police commissioner],” Theuma replies. Kurt Sansone
10:58 Theuma says that the information reached him from Yorgen Fenech. Kurt Sansone
10:58 Azzopardi asks who told him about the betrayal. “You interpreted something as a betrayal. How did this information reach you?” Kurt Sansone
10:57 Azzopardi asks when the conversation took place. Theuma replies: "The conversation took place in 2018 because Koħħu wanted to reveal all in 2018." Kurt Sansone
10:57 Lawyer Jason Azzopardi will now question the witness. Kurt Sansone
10:55 Theuma is asked about his words in the recording: ‘The family is larger out there than inside.’ He tells the court that this meant he was at risk. Kurt Sansone
10:51 Theuma tells the court he feared betrayal. "I thought that the betrayal had started... either they would kill me or send me to prison. It was incredible how Koħħu started to talk about me when I never spoke to him." Kurt Sansone
10:49 Theuma testifies: “I continued to tell Yorgen that Keith gave me this information. Later he asked where Kenneth came from, ‘from heaven?’.” Kurt Sansone
10:48 Cremona later asked him to go to the Ramla taż-Żejtun [St Thomas Bay] that moment, but Theuma did not go because he was afraid. Kurt Sansone
10:47 “I went to Mario Degiorgio and told him to inform his brothers about bail. The next day I went to Johann Cremona's garage and then Kenneth came again,” Theuma says. He adds that Camilleri had a paper with three numbers and told him that one of them was his [Theuma’s] and that he was therefore the mandant. Kurt Sansone
10:43 “Kenneth sent me to Mario Degiorgio that moment, so I went and told him [about the bail for the accused and the money they would receive].” Kurt Sansone
10:41 Theuma recounts the visit he received from Kenneth Camilleri. “I was telling Kenneth the story about Koħħu [Vince Muscat] and bail and then he moved away and made a phone call. Because I thought he was the PM's driver I thought he was calling Keith Schembri.” Kurt Sansone
10:40 Theuma tells the court: “I had told him that I didn't deserve this. I was always a good friend. To me, Kenneth Camilleri was [then prime minister] Joseph Muscat's driver. I later found out that he wasn't.” Kurt Sansone
10:39 “I spent a night drinking and went to sleep. When I woke up I found a message from Yorgen. ‘Morru fittxu lil tal-Maksar li l-bomba nħadmet għandhom.’” Kurt Sansone
10:36 Theuma says that when Kenneth Camilleri came to offer him the €1 million and bail for the three men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia, he understood that Keith Schembri was involved. Kurt Sansone
10:35 Theuma recounts: "I had been at home one night and Yorgen called me and said he needed to speak to me. Fenech told me: ‘We have a problem because Vince Muscat is exposing you...’ I said what has he got to say about me, I always spoke to Alfred Degiorgio [when dealing about the murder]. That is what made me feel I was being betrayed." Kurt Sansone
10:33 “Myself, Yorgen Fenech and his children. I picked them up from the airport. It was after the murder,” Theuma tells the court. Kurt Sansone
10:32 The recording ends. Arnaud begins questioning Theuma. “Who was present?” Kurt Sansone
10:28 Football features heavily in the recording of the two men's conversation. Kurt Sansone
10:27 In the recordings, Theuma is heard discussing days off school and the Coppa Italia with the children. Kurt Sansone
10:26 "He told me, you're sure, right? If not we'll bump into something and I'll take him to Mellieħa, to Keith." This part of the recording is probably a reference to Keith Schembri. In previous testimony, middleman Melvin Theuma said that he told Kenneth Camilleri that he will take Mario Degiorgio – the brother of accused George and Alfred Degiorgio – to Keith Schembri’s house in Mellieħa. Kurt Sansone
10:22 At some points in the recording the roar of traffic drowns out the sound of the men's conversation. Kurt Sansone
10:20 There are clearly children in the car with the men. They can be heard chattering in the background. Kurt Sansone
10:20 Melvin Theuma is heard saying in the recording that he is not going to take responsibility. Kurt Sansone
10:17 "Get it in your head that he was there. Whether it was a game or not, I don't know, but he was there." The context of these words is unclear. Later the men are discussing bail and court cases. "Let me tell you, their family out there is much bigger than inside." Kurt Sansone
10:15 The audio is indistinct, but some words are recognisable: Fulu [ostensibly, the nickname of Alfred Degiorgio, who stands accused with two others of carrying out the bombing], and Kenneth [ostensibly, Kenneth Camilleri from Castille, who formed part of ex-prime minister Joseph Muscat’s security detail and a close collaborator of former chief of staff Keith Schembri]. In the recording, the following words can also be made out: "Kenneth ġie mis - sema?" Kurt Sansone
10:13 The recording plays a child's voice, traffic, then finally, men's voices. They are discussing football. Kurt Sansone
10:12 Inspector Keith Arnaud, who is leading the prosecution, explains that the court will now hear a recording of a phone call, after which Theuma will answer questions. Kurt Sansone
10:11 Pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma returns to the courtroom and takes the stand once again. Kurt Sansone
10:11 The magistrate returns. Caruana Galizia family lawyer Jason Azzopardi asks for additional softcopies of the transcripts, to accompany the printed versions in order for them to be searchable. Kurt Sansone
09:58 Magistrate Rachel Montebello leaves the courtroom, followed by her deputy registrar. Sitting is temporarily suspended. Kurt Sansone
09:56 Melvin Theuma briefly takes the witness stand but is then sent out of the courtroom. Kurt Sansone
09:55 As the courtroom players are shuffling papers and identifying document numbers, Yorgen Fenech calls lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran over and briefly speaks with him. Kurt Sansone
09:54 In one file there were 130 recordings, says the court expert in his testimony. Kurt Sansone
09:54 A court expert is presenting a copy of documents which he exhibited on 30 January. The copies are for the parties. Transcripts of a number of recordings are also presented. Kurt Sansone
09:53 We are in court to follow the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech. In the last sitting, the court started hearing recordings of conversations made by pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma. Kurt Sansone
09:51 Good morning. Kurt Sansone