Keith Schembri, former chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, told jurors in the trial of Yorgen Fenech today that two of Fenech’s lawyers offered a key prosecution witness €400,000 to give evidence in Fenech’s favour, and approached Schembri himself days before he testified.

Fenech is charged with complicity in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed by a car bomb in October 2017. He denies the charges.

Schembri has hung over this case like a shroud, with Fenech’s defence team pushing a narrative that it was the former chief of staff who ordered the assassination, and not their client. 

Schembri has been criminally charged in three separate but linked cases: leaking information, providing a phantom government job to Theuma, and the 17 Black case, which concerns an offshore structure linked to the ElectroGas deal. 

He denied all allegations in court – and denied passing information to Fenech or to Melvin Theuma, the self-confessed middleman. He saved his key allegations for the end of the sitting.

Schembri told the court he recalled three interactions with Fenech’s lawyers, Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran:

“1) My friend at The Times, who Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran offered money for favourable coverage – they were acquitted on a technicality.

2) Gianluca and Charles went to Johann Cremona and offered him m €200,000 to testify in favour of Yorgen Fenech; the next day they offered him €400,000. This was the week before Cremona testified.

3) Someone called me and told me that Charles and Gianluca wanted to meet me. This was days before I testified in the compilation of evidence. They came to my office two doors away from the Turkish Embassy. When we went outside, they asked me to help Yorgen and testify in his favour. I told them: I had already tried to help him however I could. They left soon after.”

Messages between Schembri and Mercieca sent on 14 June 2020 at 4.24pm were displayed to the court during today’s sitting. Schembri gave evidence in the compilation of evidence on 22 June.

Cremona, a key witness who testified a few days before Fenech, was the first to reveal the meeting and communications between Fenech’s lawyers and Schembri. At the end of his three-day testimony, he produced screenshots of the communications following a combative cross-examination by the defence.

The court demanded he return to testify following the claim of an attempted bribe.

Cremona, when he appeared, refused to answer questions – and appeared anxious, constantly looking at Fenech’s defence team,

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said.

“Please, please. I don’t want to. I’m ready to suffer the consequence,” he said. The judge told him he would need to testify.

“Maybe I invented it,” he then said. The Judge said she did not believe him. Cremona was called off the stand.

“Yorgen and I were good friends” – Keith Schembri 

Schembri’s testimony began at 11am and continued through the day. At the outset, the court reminded him that he was not obliged to answer questions touching on those proceedings. Schembri answered most of the questions put to him.

Prosecutor Godwin Cini began his questioning from 2017, when Schembri was chief of staff to Muscat. Schembri described the position as “realising the manifesto on time,” in direct communication with Muscat.

Schembri said he had known Fenech since they were teenagers, and that he was initially closer to Fenech’s brother, Franco. Their relationship picked up again once Schembri entered the political fold and became chief of staff. Fenech was part of the consortium behind the ElectroGas energy project.

“My contact with him was the same as anyone else. I used WhatsApp and Signal for all aspects of my work. It varied: sometimes several times a day, sometimes it would be months,” Schembri said, also confirming that they had dinner at one another’s homes on a few occasions.

“Yes, I went to Fenech’s ranch and yacht. This was after I was in recovery for cancer. A few of us used to meet there and discuss politics, business, that sort of thing. We would have friends, wives, children. We never had businesses together. My father did sell him a plot of land in Mellieha.”

“We were good friends.”

The phantom job and Theuma

Cini then displayed the infamous photograph of Schembri and Theuma at Castille, taken on the day the middleman was given a phantom government job.

Schembri said he could not remember when the photo was taken, but acknowledged it was likely 2017, the year of the general election. He insisted that he had no idea who Theuma was before that meeting.

There were so many people coming to me at that time. It was the election; there were so many people asking for things. He came. I offered him an espresso. We spoke. Then he asked to take a photo, especially with the images of the Prime Minister behind us,” Schembri explained.

He described the “customer care” operation at Castille, a department that handles citizens’ individual requests, often for employment. Those meetings, Schembri said, were organised by Charlene Bianco Farrugia.

“I met Theuma in my office. I knew he was coming because I had a list of everyone coming that day. I don’t think I met him on the stairs,” Schembri said. “This was the first time I met Theuma 100%.”

Theuma’s work contract and payslip, issued by the Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Unit for the post of “messenger driver,” were presented to Schembri. Theuma was issued five payslips from 31 May 2017 onwards.

“I met him another time at the ranch, but I had no idea who he was. I can’t remember if this was before or after the meeting at Castille,” he said. 

In previous testimony, Schembri said there would be “businessmen, politicians and police officers” at the ranch, “people who invest in the country.” He named none of them. He mentioned Silvio Valletta, the former deputy police commissioner, after the prosecution reminded him of previous testimony.

“All I knew of Melvin was that he was a pig for money. How did he get all those properties? I then found out about the money laundering investigation. The Police Commissioner said he could make a feast out of Theuma, but we pushed for the murder investigation as there was the possibility of the recordings.”

“Yorgen disappeared from our circles after Vince Muscat began talking,” he said. Asked why, Schembri replied: “Because of addiction.” He said Fenech never told him what had caused it.

Caruana Galizia, 17 Black, Panama and Egrant

Cini then turned to the murder. Schembri said he found out about the assassination in his office with Muscat and the director of communications, Kurt Farrugia. He said he had never met Caruana Galizia personally, despite how much she had written about him.

“Joseph turned to me and said: we have to catch the people who did this,” he said.

“Her writing never impacted me per se. More my family, I would say. Everything she wrote about me, I feel I could take it,” he added, referencing her stories on the Panama Papers and his cancer diagnosis. Schembri confirmed that he had once issued a strong denial and opened a libel suit against her.

Schembri denied discussing her articles with Fenech. However, he said that on one trip to the United States for treatment, which they took together, Fenech mentioned some of the articles she had written.

He was specifically asked about her reference to 17 Black in a blog post and whether he had ever discussed it with Fenech. He first said he had, but not in great detail.

The post, “17 Black: Dubai,” was shown to the court. Fenech was named in its comments. Schembri said he could not remember whether they discussed that particular post. He then said he “definitely didn’t discuss it with Yorgen.”

“When I became a politician, I opened a trust at BOV and placed all my assets in there. I was informed that the details of the trust were leaked. I wasn’t given guarantees that the data would be protected. So, I decided to open a trust in New Zealand. I then needed a company to invest in the trust,” Schembri said, in an account offered in explanation of the offshore structures on which he faces criminal charges.

That company, Schembri confirmed, was Tillgate, opened in Panama with Nexia BT in 2015. 17 Black, which is owned by Fenech, is listed as a main target client. He said 17 Black would be “the main target client when I left politics” and that the business would focus on “recycling.”

Questions then turned to ElectroGas. “Remember that both Fenech and I are charged in connection with the case,” Schembri said. He confirmed the details of the deal, and how Siemens, SOCAR and a Maltese company comprising Fenech, the Gasans and Paul Apap Bologna took over the project.

Cini referenced a Reuters article about the project, and how Schembri and then-energy minister Konrad Mizzi acquired companies in Panama within the same time frame. Both companies listed 17 Black, owned by Fenech, and Macbridge, owned by Tang Zhaomin, the mother-in-law of Chen Cheng, a negotiator involved in multi-million euro Enemalta deals.

“What do you know about Egrant?” Cini asked. “I know a lot,” Schembri replied. “It was just a shell company for no one.”

Schembri and Leaks from the Investigation:

Schembri was then asked about the investigation into the murder and the coordination of international assistance. He confirmed that he was present for “high-ranking” meetings on the investigation involving the police, the attorney general, the Malta Security Services, Muscat and then-justice minister Owen Bonnici.

He said Keith Arnaud, the lead investigator, requested the meetings. Previous testimony has established that Valletta started the meetings before Arnaud took over.

Schembri was pressed on the raids and the arrest of the three hitmen convicted of carrying out the murder. Previous testimony, including from the hitmen themselves, has indicated they were tipped off. Theuma has alleged that Schembri was the source.

“I never informed anyone,” Schembri said, before confirming that he did inform Saviour Balzan, the Malta Today owner, the day before the raid. Schembri said this was because Malta Today was going to reveal that a raid would take place.

“I didn’t tell Theuma. I never mentioned the date or times with Fenech. For sure not.”

Schembri confirmed that Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, Arnaud and the Malta Security Services kept him informed of updates.

He said the MSS personally provided him with information on the trips of Fenech and of his secretary, Charlene Bianco Farrugia, “including their destination and seat number.” Schembri said he was provided this information because they were considered “high-risk,” and that he was never told outright at the time that Fenech was a suspect.

He confirmed that these updates began after Vince Muscat began speaking to the police.

“I thought: what’s wrong with them going abroad? I never heard anything about Fenech,” he said.

“All I knew of Melvin was that he was a pig for money. How did he get all those properties? I then found out about the money laundering investigation. The Police Commissioner said he could make a feast out of Theuma, but we pushed for the murder investigation as there was the possibility of the recordings.”

“Yorgen disappeared from our circles after Vince Muscat began talking,” he said. Asked why, Schembri replied: “Because of addiction.” He said Fenech never told him what had caused it.

Vince Muscat, Kenneth Camilleri and the pardon

The next stop on the timeline was April 2018, when Vince Muscat, one of the hitmen, started speaking to the police and requested a pardon. In those meetings, Muscat named Theuma. Fenech and Theuma were informed. Theuma began recording Fenech soon after.

“It was agreed that even if Muscat got a pardon, his evidence would result in nothing,” he said.

In recordings, both Fenech and Theuma allege that they received information on the investigation from Schembri. Schembri denied passing on information under questioning.

“My communication with Fenech didn’t change,” he said.

Schembri denied outright that he ordered Kenneth Camilleri to address an issue with Theuma via Cremona.

“I had no contact with Kenneth Camilleri in 2018. I never asked him to meet or speak to anyone,” he said.

Schembri claimed that following Fenech’s arrest, Camilleri asked him for €30,000. “How could I give him anything when all my assets were frozen?” he said. 

He said he knew Cremona as Fenech’s business partner, and that he had spoken to him about assistance with a Malta Gaming Authority licence. Schembri confirmed that the pair met at Castille at Fenech’s request.

“I offered him a coffee. We spoke. When he was leaving, Johann asked me if I spoke to Yorgen. I don’t know why, I hadn’t spoken to him for a while,” he said.