Caruana Galizia inquiry: Malta police tipped off by Americans on dark web-bought silenced weapon sent to Portomaso address
Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry hears how the Americans tipped off the Malta police on a weapon bought on a dark web site called Berlusconi by someone who gave a Portomaso address
Maltese police received a tip off from their American counterparts in September last year of a weapon purchase on the dark web that was addressed to George Fenech at a Portomaso address.
The information was divulged by Superintendent George Cremona, head of the police Counter Terrorism Unit, when testifying in front of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry on Wednesday morning.
George Fenech is the deceased father of murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
Cremona testified that the tip off concerned a weapon, ammunition and silencer bought on the dark web from a website called Berlusconi. The witness said that Italian authorities had closed down the site before the Maltese police could arrange a controlled delivery.
Cremona then continued to testify behind closed doors.
When asked about the relevance of Cremona's testimony to the inquiry, lawyer Jason Azzopardi, representing the Caruana Galizia family, said things will be clearer in a few weeks time when Europol experts are called in to testify. Azzopardi remarked that the September 2019 date when the weapon was bought coincided with the period when pardoned murder middleman Melvin Theuma was fearing for his life.
At the time, police were closing in on Theuma over a money laundering investigation. He was arrested in November and a few days later Yorgen Fenech was also stopped from leaving Malta. Fenech was eventually charged with masterminding the Caruana Galizia murder, while Theuma was given a presidential pardon to tell all.
The inquiry also heard the testimony of two officials from the Accountancy Board, who justified their lack of action on Nexia BT partners Brian Tonna and Karl Cini on the basis of legal advice given by the Attorney General not to discipline the pair before a criminal conviction.
Matthew Caruana Galizia also submitted to the board a number of email exchanges between Henley & Partners and Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Jonathan Cardona and Owen Bonnici, in which the company was informing them of its intention to sue Daphne and Jason Azzopardi in London. Caruana Galizia also submitted copies of his mother's notes.
Caruana Galizia says that Schembri had suggested to Pilatus to nominate former Nationalist minister Tonio Fenech on its board to make it hard for the Opposition to be critical. Fenech had declined the post.
What happened last time
In the previous sitting of the inquiry, Education minister Owen Bonnici distanced himself from the actions of Henley and Partners chief Christian Kalin who threatened libel action against Daphne Caruana Galizia in an exchange with government officials.
The public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is tasked with, amongst other things, determining whether the State did all it could to prevent the murder from happening.
Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb just outside her Bidnija home on 16 October 2017.
Three men, George Degiorgio, Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat, have been charged with carrying out the assassination, while Yorgen Fenech is charged with masterminding the murder.
Melvin Theuma, who acted as a middleman between Fenech and the three killers, was granted a presidential pardon last year to tell all.
The inquiry is led by retired judge Michael Mallia and includes former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino and Judge Abigail Lofaro.