Police were going to question Yorgen Fenech at his office on Valletta’s suggestion

Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla told the Caruana Galizia board of inquiry that he was going to question Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech at Fenech's Portomaso office after 17 Black allegations surfaced.

The board members lambasted him after he made the statement and said that the law should be equal for everyone.

"The police always bring you to the depot to question you. He should come to you, not the other way round," retired judge Michael Mallia told the witness. 

Abdilla replied by saying that it was former deputy police chief Silvio Valletta's suggestion that he meets Fenech at his office. He later said, upon further questioning by lawyer Jason Azzopardi: "Before I went, I was called by Valletta and was told that I could not meet him as [Fenech] was unwell."

To this, Azzopardi was visibly in disbelief as he laid his head in his hands. The board members continued to question the witness and Abdilla said: "I don't know how [Valletta] knew he was unwell. I was unaware that they were friends."

Last January, it was reported that Valletta and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech had some kind of friendship as the two went abroad to watch Champions League football games together and video footage surfaced of Valletta fooling around in the businessman's Rolls Royce.

The public inquiry also heard on Friday how Abdilla had informed Keith Schembri to seek legal advice after meeting him twice post-2017 after Egrant allegations started surfacing. 

11:17 Thank you for following this live blog. David Hudson

11:12 There are no sittings planned for next week. David Hudson

11:11 The case continues behind closed doors. David Hudson

11:09 It happened in the week of the 9th November 2018. Abdilla hadn't asked Valletta how he knew that Fenech was unwell. David Hudson

11:08 There was a problem, which the witness wants to speak about behind closed doors. David Hudson

11:08 The police always bring you to the depot to question you. He goes, not you! says Mallia David Hudson

11:08 "If I'm not mistaken it was a suggestion by Silvio Valletta,” Abdilla says. David Hudson

11:07 Azzopardi lays his head in his hands and shakes it. The board lambasts the witness for going to Fenech's house. David Hudson

11:06 "He wasn't a person of interest," Abdilla says. David Hudson

11:06 “Why didn’t you take him to the depot and go to his office in Portomaso?” Azzopardi asks. David Hudson

11:05 Before November 2018, Abdilla says that he had a meeting with Yorgen Fenech and with Raymond Aquilina, but Valletta had called Abdilla and informed him that Fenech was unwell. This was simply to investigate the allegation made by Reuters. David Hudson

11:00 Azzopardi resumes the questioning. David Hudson

10:59 "I was one of the investigators on 17 Black and can explain all the steps we took but will do so behind closed doors." David Hudson

10:59 The investigators ask for the orders, Abdilla says. The board says he was ultimately responsible for the orders. David Hudson

10:59 "After 2015, do you agree that the numbers were on your watch? Do you feel that they are your responsibility?" David Hudson

10:59 Azzopardi asks him about the low number of prosecutions in the economic crimes field. David Hudson

10:58 Abdilla: in his name. David Hudson

10:58 Dr Azzopardi: Was he speaking to you in his name or on behalf of third parties? David Hudson

10:58 Abdilla says Schembri had called him after "those reports" were leaked. He's asked which reports he's referring to, and says they were reports related directly to Schembri. Abdilla says he told Schembri that he should speak to a lawyer about it. David Hudson

10:57 Abdilla confirms that he met Schembri twice after the Egrant affair, post 2017. David Hudson

10:56 Abdilla: "It should have been May or June. Not sure if it was before or after the election." David Hudson

10:56 Azzopardi asks whether it was just the two of them at these meetings. David Hudson

10:55 He hadn't communicated with him in August 2019, he said. "I don't remember.” David Hudson

10:55 “It was a ten minute meeting and I had told him to get legal advice from a lawyer." David Hudson

10:49 He asks Abdilla whether he ever communicated with Keith Schembri, even if this was on Whatsapp. David Hudson

10:49 Lawyer Jason Azzopardi prepares to ask some questions. David Hudson

10:43 Sadr had testified at length in the Egrant inquiry. David Hudson

10:43 There weren't sufficient grounds for Sadr to be arrested, Abdilla says. David Hudson

10:43 Sadr went home with the suitcase, Abdilla says. “We searched in the suitcase.” Asked whether this happened that same night, Abdilla says that the search was conducted the next day. David Hudson

10:42 Ali Sadr was owner and chairman of the 2019 defunct Pilatus Bank in Malta and is under arrest in the United States. David Hudson

10:41 Said Pullicino asks him about the Pilatus bank luggage incident. Had anything been done? "Yes, we had exhausted all avenues in this in the Egrant inquiry. From the moment [Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad] arrived at the airport, we have CCTV footage of him... from the suitcase he only brought out a notepad and a phone charger. The inquiry found that he had never taken anything else out of the suitcase." There is a whole chapter in the Egrant inquiry on this subject, he says. David Hudson

10:36 How many Europol joint investigations on money laundering had been carried out, he is asked. Abdilla asks to testify behind closed doors. David Hudson

10:34 Abdilla says that the secrecy is still in force, that only his director Kenneth Farrugia could exempt him. The board says that Farrugia himself had testified. David Hudson

10:34 Comodini Cachia asks him whether the FIAU had received any reports on Keith Schembri. David Hudson

10:31 When the FIAU receives a report it would be addressed to the Commissioner of Police but it is very rare that the Commissioner would even be aware of it, he says. David Hudson

10:29 The questioning moves on as the board is concerned with the length of Abdilla's answers, asking him to be more concise. David Hudson

10:28 Comodini Cachia is grilling the witness on Silvio Valletta. “He would be aware of the reports I handled,” says Abdilla. David Hudson

10:27 Judge Said Pullicino points out that Abdilla must be prepared to answer questions, even if related to FIAU reports and the Unit's response to them. That remark brings a reply from Prof. Ian Refalo who once again points out that Abdilla cannot testify about ongoing proceedings. The board replies, saying that they have the power to ask for specific information. David Hudson

10:19 He is asked whether when Silvio Valletta was his direct superior officer, Valletta was also a member of the FIAU board. "I think so, yes,” he replies. David Hudson

10:17 Asked what sort of in-house training the unit had, he said that every invitation received from abroad for specialised training would be accepted. But most of his training was obtained on the job, he said. David Hudson

10:15 Asked what sort of in-house training the unit had, he said that every invitation received from abroad for specialised training would be accepted. But most of his training was obtained on the job, he said. David Hudson

10:10 Abdilla gives the impression that the ECU's staff complement was constantly in a state of flux. David Hudson

10:09 "In 2013, I was an inspector. We always suffered with staff numbers." David Hudson

10:09 Abdilla is asked how many inspectors he had when he started. Judge Said Pullicino cuts in, saying that the board had been told that the unit was understaffed. "We are understaffed to this day," replies the witness. David Hudson

10:05 In 2013, before the change of government, Michael Cassar was in charge of the unit. He was replaced by Dr. Antoine Casha and then superintendent Paul Vassallo. David Hudson

10:02 The judges ask what the staff complement was in 2013 and what the difference is compared to today. "We had six or seven economic crimes inspectors, two on money laundering, but not everyone had a full complement of staff with him. We were around 25 or 26 in all." David Hudson

10:02 In 2016, he had made a plan for the unit, which was revised by Moneyval as it wasn't ambitious enough, he said. David Hudson

09:55 Lofaro observes that the ECU is very well resourced in comparison to the homicide squad. David Hudson

09:55 Others are studying ACCA, some are lawyers and there are even officers with a Masters in Organised Criminality, Abdilla tells the board. David Hudson

09:53 Last year, Abdilla says, the anti-money laundering unit had 20 people obtain a diploma on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. David Hudson

09:52 Asked by judge Michael Mallia whether special training was offered to these officers, he said that until recently, the choice of officer was made by the Commissioner in view of expertise and qualifications. David Hudson

09:51 There are plans, he says, to further increase the manpower of the ECU. David Hudson

09:51 There are also two civilian financial analysts and a small unit on blockchain analysts. David Hudson

09:50 The Economic Crimes Unit employs 60 individuals. Abdilla and superintendent Antonovic Muscat run the unit, Abdilla says. He has seven inspectors on economic crimes and four on money laundering. David Hudson

09:49 He was promoted to Superintendent in 2015 and in July 2018 he was promoted to assistant commissioner. David Hudson

09:48 He was stationed at the Economic Crimes Unit. David Hudson

09:48 He entered the police force in 2001 after graduating as an accountant. David Hudson

09:47 He takes the oath. Abdilla asks to testify while seated as he is recovering from an operation. It is granted. David Hudson

09:47 Ian Abdilla takes the stand. David Hudson

09:47 This, she says, includes his work on the Panama Papers and the case about John Dalli's daughters. David Hudson

09:45 Caruana Galizia's sister, Corinne Vella, presents a dossier on Abdilla before he testifies. David Hudson

09:44 Ian Abdilla's lawyer, Ian Refalo, request that the witness be heard behind closed doors as they are covered by professional secrecy. David Hudson

09:44 The board members are now presiding over the courtroom. David Hudson

09:41 We are waiting for the members of the board of inquiry to come out of their chambers: Judge Michael Mallia, former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino, and Judge Abigail Lofaro. David Hudson

09:34 Assistant police commissioner Ian Abdilla is set to testify in today's public inquiry sitting. David Hudson

09:33 Good morning. David Hudson

Abdilla revealed that former chief of staff at OPM Schembri had called him after certain stories were doing the rounds. He asked that he continue testifying behind closed doors.

Previously

The Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry continued today as assistant police commissioner Ian Abdilla is set to testify.

Abdilla had been previously accused by the late journalist's son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, of protecting government officials and passing information to former chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, Keith Schembri.

In the previous sitting, the court heard that Schembri and former government communications chief Kurt Farrugia were privy to the dates for the raid on the Marsa potato shed.

The lead inspector in the Caruana Galizia murder investigation, Keith Arnaud, testified on Wednesday that he was present for two meetings at Castille. 

The meetings took place in the run-up to the massive police and army raid that apprehended brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat. They were subsequently charged with planting and detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017. 

The inquiry board is composed of retired judge Michael Mallia, former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino, and Judge Abigail Lofaro.