Melvin Theuma repeatedly told Johann Cremona – Yorgen Fenech’s friend and business partner – that Fenech had ordered and paid for the murder.

Cremona, who testified today in the trial against Fenech, corroborated the murder plot, explaining that Theuma had detailed to him how Fenech ordered the crime and paid the deposit and the final fee, matching timelines outlined by other testimony – including that of convicted hitman Vince Muscat – which pointed to election-time in 2017.

Cremona is a friend and business partner of Fenech through BestPlay, which rented office space in Qormi from Theuma.

Cremona recounted how Theuma had once “suddenly said ‘they betrayed me'”, when Cremona asked who, Theuma named Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri.

“Melvin first told me that Yorgen and Keith [Schembri] had got him to organise the murder. He was depressed. He was scared he was going to get arrested,” Cremona said

“At first he said both, and then would mention Yorgen only.”

He said that in 2019 Theuma told him it was all Fenech, and that Fenech was using Schembri as a threat. Theuma did not have direct contact with Schembri, Cremona said, but still used to say that both had betrayed him.

“Theuma came to my office every day. I would arrive at 7 am, and he would be there, outside my door. He was scared… He continued coming right until the moment he was arrested,” Cremona said, adding that Theuma wanted him to pass messages to Fenech, his business partner.

Cremona said Theuma would ask him to call Fenech to request money to pass on to the Degiorgios. He said he knew Theuma was the middleman, and that the money was going towards significant expenses such as legal fees.

Cremona confirmed that Theuma told him he was passing money to hitmen George and Alfred while they were in prison following their arrest over the murder, through their brother Mario, who was later charged with money laundering. “In those instances, he only spoke about Fenech,” Cremona said under questioning from Prosecutor Godwin Cini.

Cremona confirmed that he informed Yorgen that Theuma was recording him. Cremona could not remember when this happened. In his previous testimony, he said it was in 2018, but today could not be certain.

“I still wanted to be close to Theuma, so at least I can control the outcome. I was worried for my business,” he said.

“When Yorgen and I met, we always spoke about business. I never spoke to him about the case.”

Cremona mentioned that, out of the blue, Fenech messaged describing someone as “the middleman between the Degiorgio brothers and Cardona.  

Cremona had previously testified that the photo showed one man (“il-Baġri”); today he said it showed two men, one of them Chris Cardona. The prosecution hammered the change, but  Cremona insisted nobody had asked before, that he’s hiding nothing, and that he’s “putting his life in danger.”

Recordings Show Cremona Tried To Get Theuma To Delete Fenech Tapes

A recording between Cremona and Theuma was played in the court. Theuma took the recording; Cremona was unaware. Recordings were repeatedly hard to hear, and the gist of the conversation was highlighted in the prosecution’s questions.

Throughout the conversation, Cremona reassured a panicked Theuma on how to make a money-laundering investigation into him disappear. Previous testimonies have heard how police used the money laundering investigation as an inroad to arrest Theuma for the murder, and secure his evidence box.

Cremona walked Theuma through fabricating a story of a backdated loan to explain undeclared sums that would be presented to ‘Raymond’ – confirmed to be Raymond Aquilina, a former police inspector who has been separately charged in a bribery case with Fenech.

Cremona suggested buying Raymond Aquilina a car. On tape, Cremona describes fixing his own undeclared money by producing a backdated €70,000 loan document through his auditor. However, on the stand, he said that he had never actually spoken to Aquilina and confirmed things on tape he knew nothing about.

Cremona repeatedly told Theuma to route everything through “Sur Ray” and not to make contact with Yorgen Fenech. On tape he says outright it’s because if the FIAU sees Fenech, “Yorgen Fenech gets named and they implicate him as much as possible.” On the stand he reframed this as trying to manage Fenech’s depression and his own exhaustion.

Cremona insisted to the court this was all made up to calm down Theuma. Yet, in the recordings, Cremona expressly pressures Theuma to delete all his recordings, especially those with Fenech. Cremona framed it as reassuring Theuma rather than covering for himself or Fenech.

On tape, they discuss there being “not enough power in the secret service,” and that the secret service “isn’t Keith Schembri’s.

In the conversation, the pair also discuss the money being passed onto the Degiorgios through their brother, Mario. 

Melvin Theuma & Kenneth Cammilleri, The OPM Official

Cremona told the court that his involvement began in May or June 2018, when he received a call from Kenneth Camilleri, an OPM official and family friend, asking him to meet at 8 pm. They met at Camilleri’s home in Bulebel, where Camilleri said he wanted to speak to Theuma.

The two then went to Theuma’s home, where Theuma was waiting in the road.

“Kenneth spoke with Theuma alone for about 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, Kenneth made a 2-minute phone call from his mobile. He went back to Theuma, then returned to the car. I wasn’t in their conversation,” Cremona said, adding that Camilleri never told him what they had discussed or why he wanted to meet Theuma.

The next morning, Cremona found Camilleri waiting outside his office. Theuma arrived 30 to 45 minutes later, asking for Camilleri, and the two spoke in the garage’s coffee area while Cremona stayed in his office. “It looked like they were having a small argument. I didn’t hear anything, though. Melvin was swearing,” he said.

On another day, Cremona said that Theuma called him in Valletta, asking to meet and requesting Camilleri’s number. Reluctant to pass it on, Cremona instead called Camilleri, who said he was at Castille and available.

The three met at a coffee shop in front of Parliament, though Theuma and Camilleri spoke in private.

“I did hear Melvin tell Kenneth something about ‘arranging the bail’ and the Degiorgio brothers,” Cremona said. “At that time, I still hadn’t realised that Melvin was involved in this case.”

‘I tried to convince Theuma not to go to the police. I was worried about my business with Fenech.’

Cremona said that by the end of 2018, Theuma began telling him he wanted to speak to the police. “Whenever Fenech didn’t answer, he got more and more desperate,” he said. “When he did answer, he would get calmer and start acting more normal. He would change for the better and feel more comfortable.”

“I tried to convince him not to go to the police. I was worried for my business,” he said.

In previous statements to police, Cremona said Fenech would tell Theuma: “as long as we’re together, they can kiss our [redacted by prosecutor]”.

“When I spoke in favour of Yorgen, he would get angry with me. When I spoke against Yorgen, he got more comfortable. With Keith, he only ever asked me to call Kenneth,” Cremona said.

As more news emerged – particularly as Vince Muscat began speaking – Cremona said Theuma became scared he would be killed or that everything would be pinned on him, and was convinced he was being followed.

“I would mention names that weren’t involved in the murder just to calm him down. It would make him feel better. He also would throw out names,” Cremona said.

“On One News, there was a Maltese person named as potentially involved in the murder. I told him to calm him down,” Cremona said. The public inquiry found that the Office of the Prime Minister pushed this narrative after the murder.

Cremona said he was aware that Theuma was also in contact with Edwin il-Gojja’ Brincat, who had spoken with then-Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.

Cremona claimed that Theuma had said he was discussing a potential pardon through Brincat, and that Cutajar was aware of the recordings. Cremona said this was after May 2019.

“I never saw Melvin or spoke with Cutajar. The only thing I know is that Melvin received a call informing him about the raids. I don’t know who called him,” Cremona said, later adding that he had got this information from Cutajar via Brincat.

Keith Schembri Calls

Cremona said that in September 2019 he received a call from Keith Schembri asking to meet at Castille – the first time the two had met. After discussing the gaming industry, Schembri asked whether he “had spoken to Yorgen”. Cremona said he had not, and Schembri looked worried. The meeting lasted about an hour. “He didn’t mention why he asked or why he was so worried,” Cremona said.

A week later, Schembri contacted him on Signal with the same question and continued to reach out for the next month. Cremona said he was in contact with Fenech at the time, but only on business.

“Once I asked [Yorgen] about it – he told me not to worry about it,” he said. “Neither of them ever mentioned what it was about. I assume that Yorgen and Keith started speaking directly after.”

He said Theuma never claimed to have recorded Schembri, only Fenech, and that at that point Theuma was only mentioning Fenech.

‘I lost everything’

Cremona confirmed that he had told Fenech he was recording him, though he could not say when. In previous testimony he had put it in 2018, but said he could not now be certain. “I still wanted to keep Theuma close, so at least I can control the outcome. I was worried for my business,” he said.

He said that when he and Fenech met, they only ever discussed business. However, Cini referred him to earlier testimony in which he said he had spoken to Fenech about the murder before his arrest, after a Times of Malta report linked a businessman to the killing. Cremona confirmed that it had been a phone call but said he could not remember what was discussed.

“I’m angry he recorded me. I lost everything. I can’t go to the bank. To the auditor. I can’t even open a convenience shop. He had no reason to record me,” he said.

Cremona said he had tried to stop Theuma from going to the police for his own benefit, because of his business with Fenech. “Yorgen tried to get me to stop Theuma from going to the police. Fenech was my partner; we were in business together, I had respect for him,” he said.

“I’m not angry with Yorgen. He didn’t bring me into this. He didn’t tell me to calm down, Theuma. I did it for the business I had with Yorgen.”