An associate of murder suspect Yorgen Fenech was arrested over suspicions he could be connected to a French horse doping ring involving 26 people.

Nicholas Cachia was arrested in March during a trip to Sicily and subsequently extradited to France to face interrogation.

Maltese corporate records show Cachia owns a company called Technovet, which advertises itself as specialising in veterinary products for horses.

The suspected doping ring involves racehorse trainers, owners, doctors and pharmacists, according to the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office.

Coordinated police raids were carried out back in March across France, as well as in Spain and Sicily in connection with the probe.

News of Cachia’s arrest only filtered out in the past few days, after a money-laundering case against him was put off indefinitely due to his arrest.

Cachia, 47, along with his father Joseph, were arraigned last August, along with a number of other business associates of Fenech.

The charges revolve around a Maltese gaming company owned by Fenech called Glimmer Limited. 

Cachia, who was out on bail, is understood to have travelled to Sicily in March, after obtaining court permission.

He was subsequently picked up in Sicily and extradited to France on the strength of a European arrest warrant linked to the doping probe.

Evidence presented in the money-laundering case back in Malta has featured discussions between Fenech and Cachia about hefty cash payments to buy French horses.

Fenech, a known horse aficionado, is known to have carried out payments to a French company to obtain the prize money rights for French racehorses, using an opaquely owned offshore company.

17 Black connection

Six payments carried out by his once-secret company 17 Black featured in a European investigation order issued by the Maltese courts as part of a wider probe into Fenech’s activities.

Fenech, who has been charged in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, is suspected to have used 17 Black to carry out €274,000 worth of payments to obtain rights to the prize money won by the French racehorses Enigma Scarlet, Elena Princess, Easy Lady and Do You Love Me.

Investigators highlighted how although the racehorses remained the property of the French company, the prize money rights were transferred to 17 Black.

The potential offences highlighted in the European investigation order included money laundering. The Maltese authorities sought banking documents and information on the financial operations of the French company that transacted with 17 Black.

Information was also sought from European counterparts on any potential transactions involving the Panama companies owned by former government officials Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

A 2015 Panama Papers e-mail had indicated plans for 17 Black to transfer €2 million yearly to Schembri’s and Mizzi’s Panama companies.

All involved deny any wrongdoing.