A series of covert recordings taken by middleman Melvin Theuma during conversations with Johann Cremona, a business partner of Yorgen Fenech, were played in court today during the ongoing trial into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In one played excerpt, Cremona was heard instructing Theuma on how to set his messaging apps to auto-delete after 30 minutes to destroy potential evidence.

The recordings also detailed payments of €1,000 per week to the Degiorgio brothers, funded directly by Fenech. Throughout the tapes, Theuma expressed deep frustration over the disparity between Fenech’s wealth and his own vulnerability, threatening to “bring him down” if police ever raided his home.

Theuma also told Cremona that Fenech was “petrified” when hitman Vince Muscat (il-Koħħu) began negotiating for a presidential pardon, adding that figures in Castille—specifically Keith Schembri—were terrified of Fenech breaking down.

Cremona described to the court finding an envelope pushed under his office door, containing a handwritten note stating that Vince Muscat had not testified against Theuma and would not accept a 12-year deal. 

He said he was at Portomaso when Theuma called, went back and found it, and showed it to Theuma. Asked how it got there, he said he did not know. 

Repeated Claims of “Bluffs” and Inventions

The hearing saw Cremona walk through the covert recordings page by page, with Prosecutor Godwin Cini reading specific passages before asking Cremona to explain what he meant and to whom he was referring.

At its core, Cremona stuck to a consistent line of defence throughout the day. He claimed he repeatedly invented or amplified names, high-level contacts, and reassurances simply to keep the increasingly volatile Theuma calm, maintain his trust, and, critically, keep himself out of the crosshairs.

“I was always dragging other people into the story,” Cremona told the court.

Among the specific claims made on the recordings and Cremona’s explanations under oath:

• On tape, Cremona claimed “these people pay the magistrate” and asked, “who knows what was promised to her.” In court, he clarified this referred to the Degiorgio brothers’ attempts to secure bail, dismissing his own recorded words as a complete “bluff.”
  
• Cremona claimed in the recording that he knew police were preparing to seize Fenech’s phone at Gatwick Airport in the UK. In court, he admitted this was another “bluff.”
  
• He claimed former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar had met with former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri to ask for a favour. He again testified this was fabricated.
  
• Cremona claimed on tape to be in regular contact with figures like Kenneth Camilleri.
  

Cremona was also pressed on inconsistencies in his previous testimony. Having claimed the day prior that he never discussed the murder case with Fenech, prosecutors confronted him with an exchange where Fenech had sent him a photograph of il-Baġri, a figure linked to the case.

Pressed on the contradiction, Cremona replied: “I don’t know. I don’t know why you don’t believe me.”

Power Outages Stall Proceedings

Beyond the evidence presented, today’s trial was disrupted by power outages at the Valletta law courts.

An initial outage forced a 30-minute suspension during the morning session. Later in the afternoon, a complete blackout at 2:35 PM stalled proceedings for over an hour before engineers resolved the switchboard issue and power was fully restored around 3:20 PM.