Convicted fraudster Julian Hofstra, read an excerpt of a recording he claimed to have of Daphne Caruana Galizia murder middleman Melvin Theuma to a police officer investigating an alleged leak from the police data system, a court was told on Tuesday.

The information was given during testimony by Superintendent James Grech, in the compilation of evidence against Inspector Elton Taliana, who has been suspended from the corps on half-pay since January, for allegedly leaking personal data about Hofstra to lawyer Charles Mercieca, one of Fenech’s defence team. The inspector denies the claims.

In February the police denied reports that they had offered immunity from prosecution to the Dutchman, who claims to have evidence on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.  They denied offering Hofstra some form of legal immunity in return for recordings of Melvin Theuma.

The Police Commissioner had ordered Superintendent James Grech to investigate Hofstra’s claims.

In court testimony, Superintendent Grech said Hofstra was eager to get hold of “devices” he allegedly had in Malta where he lived for six years and he appeared to be “shopping around” for assistance to do so.

Grech said he had gone to the place mentioned on the police system as Hofstra’s local address. There he met a taxi driver who said that the young Dutchman used to spend hours chatting at the car hire garage, also mentioning the recordings he allegedly kept.

Grech gave his mobile number to this man and asked him to pass it on to Hofstra who used to call this Maltese friend from jail.

Two days later, Hofstra called the superintendent, saying that he was to “meet the lawyers in an hour’s time.”

Melvin Theuma recordings

He told Grech about secret recordings featuring Melvin Theuma, reading out a couple of lines from a transcript of one such tape, as though by way of convincing the officer about his claims, whilst implying that he was “well involved in the circle.”

Later, Hofstra called again to say that Fenech’s lawyers had visited and that he had played out some recordings which he accessed on iCloud through Mercieca’s phone.

He also told Grech that the lawyers had shown him records that Maltese authorities allegedly had about him, namely “a paper with a yellow emblem” and a document which was a screen shot from the police system, showing his name, surname, address and status.

Although insisting that he had a paper in hand, Hofstra would give no further details when asked by Grech to indicate the date and time that police document had been printed.

All Hofstra wanted were the “devices,” said Grech.

But police authorities were intent on getting to the bottom of the matter and to find out who had handed out information from the national police system.

Another officer, superintendent Antonello Grech, who also testified on Tuesday, said he was asked to check the police data system. He confirmed that Taliana had accessed Hofstra’s details from the Birkirkara police station on January 7.

All members of the police corps could log in to that system by means of a user password.

That audit check confirmed that Taliana had not accessed other databases, including SIS (Schengen Information System) alerts which were also equally accessible.

Hofstra’s details had been inputted into the system after he had filed a police report about a fight at the airport and Taliana had not accessed that report, the witness confirmed under cross examination by Taliana’s lawyer.

Hofstra’s calls to Grech continued until mid-February and the devices issue was still pending, Grech said. 

Hofstra was evidently “shopping around” not sure whether to trust the police or the lawyers who had visited him and showing great interest in those recordings.

Lawyer testifies after assurance of no criminal action

One of the lawyers, Charles Mercieca, testified at the start of Tuesday's hearing after the prosecution declared, upon a request by Mercieca’s lawyers, that no criminal action was to be taken against him in this case.

Whilst confirming the WhatsApp chat with Taliana, Mercieca pointed out that the information sent to him by the police officer was “nothing he did not already have.”

Asked to explain further the subject of that conversation, Mercieca insisted that he was barred from doing so under professional secrecy and was not in a position to disclose anything.

As for Inspector Taliana, he said that he knew the officer since the time he worked as an AG lawyer, confirming that the officer had asked him to fix an appointment with his ophthalmologist father, but he seemed to recall that that was before the date of the WhatsApp chat.

After hearing a number of other officers testifying about various aspects of the investigation, the court, presided over by magistrate Nadine Lia, delivered a prima facie decree saying that there is sufficient evidence for Inspector Taliana to stand trial and ordered a media ban on specific aspects of the testimonies.

The case continues next month.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Gatt prosecuted.

Lawyers Giannella de Marco and Stephen Tonna Lowell assisted Mercieca.