A court has ruled that there is enough prima facia evidence for businessman Yorgen Fenech and former head of the police’s anti-money laundering unit Ray Aquilina to face trial for money laundering and corruption.

For the first time since he was released on bail last week, Fenech walked into the law courts unescorted by guards to sit in for one of the pending court cases against him.

Over the past five years - ever since his arrest in 2019 - Fenech had been escorted to court by armed prison guards directly from the Corradino Correctional Facility where he was being detained in preventive custody. 

Fenech was arrested in 2019 and charged with complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed in a car bomb close to her home in 2017.

He is pleading not guilty. It took two weeks for him to walk out on bail due to a lengthy process in which his aunt, Moira Fenech, had to pledge her shares in the family company business towards the government or Malta after she agreed to act as a guarantor for his bail.

As part of his bail conditions, he must turn up for all court sittings. 

On Wednesday afternoon he turned up to face charges of complicity in the corruption of a public officer and money laundering.

Co-accused Aquilina is charged with corruption, leaking official secrets, money laundering and perjury.

They are pleading not guilty along with notary Mario Bugeja, who was charged with money laundering in the same case. 

During the sitting, Magistrate Rachel Montebello heard a representative of the Notarial Council of Malta outline the roles of the council and the duty of notaries to verify the details of parties and companies involved in a contract.

Court officials also presented various files to be submitted in the case documents. 

Times of Malta had exclusively revealed that Aquilina was poised to face criminal charges back in 2021.

Ray Aquilina was arrested four years ago.

He was first arrested in April of that year as part of a wider probe into police and government officials who potentially leaked sensitive information to suspects in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

As part of the leaks probe, investigators had examined the planned sale of a Birżebbuġa apartment to Aquilina which Fenech was suspected of facilitating.

At that stage, Aquilina was meant to be investigating Fenech over his ownership of 17 Black, a secret company suspected to have been intended to funnel payments to former government officials Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.

Instead of Aquilina appearing as the property buyer, the property transaction was to be fronted by his parents, who would then donate it to their son.

Documents reviewed by Times of Malta indicated that Aquilina had claimed he was not buying the property directly himself as he was undergoing separation proceedings with his wife, and therefore did not want the property to form part of their joint assets.

Aquilina had claimed during the sale process that the property acquisition was being funded through his personal savings.

Times of Malta previously reported how officers from the police’s anti-money laundering unit believed the Birżebbuġa apartment worth in excess of €180,000 was set to be sold to Aquilina’s parents for around a third of its market value.

Sources said the apartment was then to be donated to Aquilina by his parents in what police suspected may be a case of bribery and money laundering. It was not clear whether the property deal actually went through.

Soon after retiring from the police force, Aquilina was appointed as a manager within Enemalta’s internal audit and governance section. He no longer occupies the role.

Police Inspector Sean Friggieri prosecuted with lawyers Andrea Zammit and Gary Cauchi from the Attorney General’s office.

Lawyer Charles Mercieca appeared for Fenech, Franco Debono and Andreana Zammit appeared for Bugeja and Lennox Vella appeared for Aquilina.