Fenech chats show flight risk, police say in bail refusal case

Yorgen Fenech, the businessman indicted for the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, had told a Bangladeshi cabinet minister that he had contact with the Maltese Prime Minister in the course of a Whatsapp chat discussing the Electrogas project, a judge has been told this morning.

Police Inspector Kurt Zahra was testifying in a constitutional case filed by Fenech, which is being heard by Madame Justice Miriam Hayman. In the suit, Fenech is claiming his fundamental rights are being breached by the State Advocate’s “arbitrary objections” to his many requests for bail.

From the witness stand, Zahra testified about the links which Fenech has beyond the shores of Europe. These links emerge from data extracted from his mobile phone, the court was told.

Zahra explained that as a police inspector in the Homicide Squad, he had been involved in the investigations into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. His role was to see if there was any data relevant to the investigation on the accused’s electronic devices, he said.

State Advocate Chris Soler asked the witness about links and financing relating to Fenech that extended beyond Europe.

Zahra replied that he would be making reference to four chats extracted from Fenech’s devices, explaining that he would be testifying only with regards to his area of expertise and eschewing any financial information which is being dealt with by other officers.

One chat was with Salman Rahman, a cabinet minister in Bangladesh. In a Whatsapp chat with Rahman, the minister was informing Fenech of Rahman’s appointment to cabinet as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Paraphrasing from the chat, the inspector says that Fenech had asked Rahman if he could help him in some way.

In the conversation, which the inspector said included former Electrogas commercial director Catherine Halpin, Fenech tells Rahman that he has “contact” with the Prime Minister in Malta. “On 26 January 2019, in a chat with Portelli, Fenech refers to Rahman as his partner and says he is going to the Bangladeshi capital tomorrow.”

With Kathrin Halpin, Fenech chats about his projects in Bangladesh, a social housing project, giving dimensions of the housing units.

In another group chat with SOCAR representatives Turab Musayev and Hayal Ahmadzada, Musayev tells Fenech to discuss opportunities in Libya.

Inspector says he was “not exhaustive” in the chats he exhibited today, as some of them had been testified about by other prosecution witnesses, adding that investigations into the information they contained were still underway.

Lawyers Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran are appearing for Fenech, whilst lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are appearing for the Caruana Galizia family who were admitted as parte civile.

The case continues in January