Live: Keith Schembri claims Fenech's lawyers tried to bribe witness
Fenech is pleading not guilty to complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia
Keith Schembri is testifying in the trial of Yorgen Fenech on Tuesday.
Fenech, a prominent businessman and old friend of Schembri's, is pleading not guilty to complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Schembri was the chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat at the time of that murder, and jurors have heard several references to him throughout the course of the trial.
On Monday, police officers who searched Schembri's home in 2019 testified that they were instructed to only seize the electronic devices that Schembri pointed out to them. Two phones that appeared in police photos were not taken.
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Live blog
Case on hold until Cremona brought
5.36pm The hearing is paused until Cremona is brought to court. The judge will be questioning the witness directly.
Cremona to be brought back to testify
5.35pm Prosecutors want the court to order a confrontation between witnesses. Schembri said that Johann Cremona was offered a €400,000 bribe by Fenech's lawyers before testifying – but Cremona never mentioned anything about that when testifying.
The prosecution want Cremona called back to answer questions about this. It’s a clear allegation about the defence trying to bribe a witness, they say.
Fenech’s lawyers object to the request.
The court rules in the prosecution’s favour. Court marshals are instructed to immediately fetch Cremona and bring him to court.
Schembri: 'Use Signal'
5pm The message shows Schembri texting Mercieca, on WhatsApp, to “use Signal”. [Signal is an encrypted messaging app which provided message self-destruct features at a time when WhatsApp did not].
Schembri says he can’t recall the context of the message. “It may have been a joke,” he says.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: A joke? Eight days before you were due to testify?
Schembri: I don’t know.
Cini: Was the message sent before or after your meeting?
Schembri: I don’t remember.
The court calls a 15-minute break.
An awkward fix
4.53pm Court technicians are still unable to get the screenshot to display on courtroom monitors.
IT expert Martin Bajada steps in and offers to display the screenshot on his laptop.
He is now walking around the courtroom, laptop in hand, showing each juror the message on his laptop screen.
Technology woes in the law courts
4.50pm The prosecution asks Schembri about a Signal message sent to him by Fenech’s lawyer Charles Mercieca on June 14, 2020.
“Do you recall this message? Did you speak to Charles Mercieca on that date?”
[It is unclear who texted who in this exchange, or what was said – they’ve been trying to project this screenshot onto monitors for the past 10 minutes].
Schembri: I told my lawyers about meeting
4.40pm Did Schembri tell anyone about this meeting with Fenech’s lawyers?
Schembri: I told my lawyers, Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo.
Cini: Did you give this very important person an update on your meeting with Fenech’s lawyers?
Schembri: No, I had no need to.
Who was the 'important person'?
4.32pm Schembri is asked who this 'very important person' was.
The judge bans the media from reporting this piece of testimony.
Schembri: Fenech's lawyers told me 'help Yorgen'
4.27pm [Updated 5.28pm to add detail]
The prosecution circles back to Johann Cremona.
Schembri says he was told that Cremona was offered €200,000 and then €400,000 to testify in Yorgen Fenech’s favour. He claims Cremona first met Fenech's lawyers near The Savoy and was offered €200,000, then a second time near the old Opera House where they upped their offer to €400,000.
“Another time, around two days before I was going to testify, somebody very important called me and said Gianluca [Caruana Curran] and Charles [Mercieca] wanted to meet. I met them and they told me ‘help Yorgen’. I told them 'how can I help him more than I already have?'
Schembri: Yorgen had a coke problem
4.15pm Cini: When you started getting information about Melvin Theuma...
Schembri, interjecting: If I knew beforehand, I would have handed the prime minister my resignation.
Cini: Why did Yorgen Fenech vanish after Koħħu started speaking to the police?
Schembri: Because of addiction. He had a coke problem but I don’t know what got him in that situation.
Schembri: Theuma was 'money hungry'
4.11pm Schembri says Theuma was “money hungry” [pastaz għall flus].
“He had over €900,000 in property and a bunch of money hidden away… when [police commissioner Lawrence] Cutajar would speak to us he’d say that if he charged him with money laundering it would be too easy [festa nagħmlu].
Public testimony resumes
4.02pm Schembri is done testifying in private. Testimony continues in open court. Prosecutor Godwin Cini is asking the witness questions.
Cini: When did you find out that Melvin Theuma was Yorgen Fenech's driver?
Schembri: After he was arrested.
Cini: When did Yorgen Fenech tell you that Melvin Theuma was his driver?
Schembri: I don't know.
Cini: So in all your frequent meetings with Yorgen, he never said Theuma was his driver and that they had gone abroad together?
Schembri: Too much time has passed for me to remember.
Schembri: I will speak about this behind closed doors
3.45pm More questions about Cremona from prosecutor Godwin Cini.
Cini: What else did you know about Cremona apart from his business relationship with Fenech?
Schembri: He worked lotto booths.
Cini: What did you know about Melvin Theuma in 2018?
Schembri: I can testify about it behind closed doors, the commissioner and attorney general kept us updated about what was happening.
Cini: What do you mean, ‘what was happening’?
Schembri: I don’t feel comfortable testifying about what the MSS [Malta Security Services] told us. I will speak if the media is not in the courtroom.
The court agrees to his request. We are precluded from reporting the next part of Schembri's testimony.
We'll continue the minute-by-minute updates when the judge allows us to.
Schembri on Johann Cremona
3.37pm Schembri confirms he knew Johann Cremona – “he had many nicknames, Ix-Xlukkajr…. and is-Cigar,” he says - as a business partner of Fenech’s.
Prosecution: How long had you known Cremona by April 2018?
Schembri: Two or three years. Once we had met at Castille because there was some issue with small gaming enterprises. Before he left I asked him if he had seen Yorgen and to send my regards to him.
Prosecution: Why did you ask Cremona about Yorgen Fenech?
Schembri: Because he had vanished from the face of the Earth; I hadn’t spoken to him in months.
Schembri denies knowing Kenneth Camilleri
3.30pm Prosecution: Did you ask Kenneth Camilleri to do something for you in 2018?
[Camilleri has testified that Schembri sent him to ‘calm down’ Melvin Theuma.]
Schembri: No.
Prosecution: How did you know him?
Schembri: He was one of Joseph’s security guards. I would be locked up in my office and didn’t see him much. And when I did, I just kept walking.
Prosecution: In 2018 you told Camilleri that Johann Cremona was going to pick him up and drive him to meet someone.
Schembri: I didn't even have Kenneth's number.
Fenech was 'a very good friend'
3.25pm Schembri is asked how he would describe his relationship with Fenech.
He describes Fenech as a “very good friend” and uses a metaphor to make the point.
“I’d invite Joseph Muscat into the dining room, and Yorgen Fenech into the hallway." [Lil Joseph Muscat kont indaħħlu sal-kamra tal-ikel...lil Yorgen Fenech kont indaħħlu sal-intrata.”]
He confirms that he had said he would “go into fire” for Fenech.
Hearing resumes
3.19pm The judge and jury are back in the courtroom, as is the witness.
The hearing can resume.
That police search
1.35pm Meanwhile, we've reached out to the police asking about Monday's testimony where details of an unconventional search at Schembri's residence in November 2019 were revealed.
This is what the police had to say.
Break
1.25pm And on that legal dispute, the judge has ordered a break. We'll be back around 3.15pm.
Questions over Fenech message
1.15pm Prosecutors ask Schembri why Yorgen Fenech would have wanted to interfere with the murder investigation.
Judge Edwina Grima disallows the question.
Prosecutors then refer Schembri to a Signal message found inside the ice cream container seized from Melvin Theuma when he was arrested.
The message, sent by Fenech to Theuma, reads: "Bit by bit. Stay calm. They have informed Ta' Maksar that he has already said the bomb was assembled in the Żebbuġ garage."
Asked how Fenech knew about Ta' Maksar, Schembri replies: "I don't know. I didn't know either."
The defence raises a point of law and the judge orders the jury and the witness out of the courtroom.
Schembri on Fenech's Ta' Maksar message
1.05pm Prosecutors note that inside Melvin Theuma’s box there was a screenshot of a chat from Yorgen Fenech that appeared to warn him that police knew that Ta’ Maksar had provided the bomb. How did Yorgen Fenech know about Ta’ Maksar?
Schembri: I don’t know.
Schembri on Theuma recordings
1pm Schembri is asked if he ever listened to Melvin Theuma’s recordings.
He says that he has, “in the media”.
Schembri on Koħħu talking to police
12.53pm Schembri confirms that one of the hitmen, Vince Muscat il-Koħħu, was ready to speak to police.
“I wasn’t involved in that. Arnaud and the prime minister told me that il-Koħħu was ready to speak. The attorney general and police commissioner agreed that a pardon for il-Koħħu would be useless because it was all hearsay.
He says he was told all that at one of the Castille briefings, not directly one-on-one.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: Did the briefings go into what Koħħu was saying?
Schembri: No, just that he was speaking to police. Arnaud said meetings also involved lawyer Arthur Azzopardi.
Prosecution: The Degiorgio brothers found out within one day that Koħħu was speaking to police. How did they find out?
Schembri: I wouldn't even recognise these people you're mentioning to me.
Schembri: I didn't tell anyone about raids
12.48pm Schembri confirms that the dates of raids that led to the arrest of the murder hitmen were discussed in those meetings.
[Hitmen have testified that they knew of the raid weeks before it happened].
Prosecution: Did you tell anyone about the raids?
Schembri: No, but I believe [Malta Today managing editor] Salvu Balzan published an article the day before saying ‘Now you’ll know tomorrow.’
Prosecution: How did Melvin Theuma know of the arrest date? Did you mention something to Yorgen Fenech?
Schembri: I don’t know how he knows and I definitely did not mention anything.
Prosecution: Did Yorgen Fenech ever tell you why he sent Theuma to warn the hitmen about their upcoming arrest?
Schembri: No.
Murder meetings at Castille
12.44pm Schembri says Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra led the Caruana Galizia murder investigation.
“I would plan meetings involving the attorney general, investigators, army chief and so on. Arnaud would ask for the meetings, sometimes the prime minister asked for an update. They'd be held at Castille.
“I’d only attend for five minutes, to ensure everything was OK, and then leave,” he says.
He rattles off the list of attendees: Silvio Valletta, Arnaud, Kurt Zahra, Owen Bonnici, the head of MSS, attorney general, and police commissioner.
Schembri: Egrant was a coup d'etat
12.38pm Prosecutors ask Schembri about other offshore firms exposed in those years: [Konrad Mizzi’s] Hearnville, [Cheng Chen’s] Macbridge and Egrant.
He says he recognises the name of the first two but little else.
Egrant, on the other hand, he describes as a “coup d’etat against Malta’s prime minister. It was a shell company for nobody.”
Schembri denies target client link
12.30pm Schembri and jurors are briefly ordered out of the courtroom as lawyers argue over what can or can’t be asked of the witness.
After some discussion, he is brought back in and questioning resumes.
Prosecutors confront him with a Times of Malta article revealing the financial link between Fenech’s 17 Black and companies belonging to Schembri and [former minister] Konrad Mizzi.
Schembri says the allegation is not true.
Schembri and Fenech's long-term planning
12.14pm Schembri confirms that Tillgate was his Panama-registered company.
“When I opened my New Zealand trust, they told me that I needed a company in Panama to transfer money from.”
Prosecution: One of its main clients was 17 Black. Did you ever discuss 17 Black?
Schembri: No, we would talk about business we could do in the future, once I was out of politics. Including recycling.
Prosecution: What was the plan for after politics with regard to 17 Black?
Schembri: We didn’t have any arrangement. Prosecution: Did you have any connection to 17 Black at the time of this blog post?
Schembri: No, apart from 17 Black being listed as a potential target client [of Schembri’s Tillgate].
[The email naming 17 Black as Tillgate's target client was dated December 2015 and stated that: "it is estimated that the companies will generate around USD2m within a year"]
Schembri on his New Zealand trust
12pm The prosecution refers to Daphne Caruana Galizia mentioning 17 Black.
Schembri: My time in politics was transitory; I planned on doing business with important people after it. People more important than Yorgen Fenech. I opened a trust at Bank of Valletta and placed all my assets in it. Then I learnt that the PN knew about the trust.
“I wrote to BOV’s chairman and he told me couldn’t guarantee that there were no leaks. So I decided to open a trust in New Zealand, and then what happened, happened. I had many foreign companies.”
Prosecutors ask Schembri if he ever discussed Caruana Galizia's blog post with Fenech.
Schembri: Definitely not, why should I?
[Caruana Galizia's blog post was the first time 17 Black was mentioned. A year after she was murdered, Times of Malta and Reuters revealed that the company was owned by Yorgen Fenech.]
Schembri: 'Daphne wrote I didn't have long to live'
11.54am Did Daphne Caruana Galizia write about him?
Schembri: Yes, she wrote about me being in the USA [for cancer treatment] and wrote that I didn’t have long to live. My parents and children were shocked.
“I didn’t like it when she wrote about me. She would write that we would be going abroad… we’d have our kids at home alone. I also didn’t like it when she wrote about Joseph’s children.”
“She also wrote about the Panama Papers, and said I had money seized. I was advised to keep a copy of everything she wrote about me.”
Prosecution: Who advised you?
Schembri: Kurt Farrugia and Matthew Carbone.
Prosecution: How did you feel when she wrote about you?
Schembri: I’d be angry for the first week but by the second or third week it would die down. I’d talk to Joseph, Mark Farrugia and my children about it.
Prosecution: Did you discuss Daphne’s writings with Yorgen Fenech?
Schembri: Yes, I did. When I was in the US he had told me ‘look at what she wrote about you.’
Schembri on Daphne's murder
11.50am Prosecutors take him back to the day of the murder in October 2017.
Schembri: “I was at the office with the prime minister [Joseph Muscat] and [head of government communications] Kurt Farrugia. I was shocked.
“Joseph [Muscat] turned to me and said ‘we have to catch the people who did this’. I called the [US?] ambassador and we immediately asked Europol for help.”
'That's Melvin Theuma'
11.46am Prosecutors want to know about Theuma at the ranch.
Schembri: Someone came up to me, pointed at Theuma and told me ‘That’s Melvin Theuma’.
Seeing Silvio Valletta at the ranch
11.45am In his previous testimony, Schembri said that Fenech hosted “many businesspeople and politicians” at the ranch. Who were they?
Schembri: I don’t remember.
Prosecution: You testified that you also saw police officers, including Silvio Valletta, at the ranch.
Schembri nods. “Yes, I remember seeing Silvio Valletta.”
Prosecution: Was there anyone from the media at the ranch?
Schembri: I only recall normal people... I went to the ranch between five and 10 times.
[Silvio Valletta was originally the lead investigator in the murder case. He was taken off the case following a court order due to his marriage to a minister. It later transpired that he and Fenech were friends and had even travelled abroad together.]
Going to the ranch in 2017
11.42am Schembri says he cannot recall how many times he went to Yorgen Fenech’s ranch.
“I started going before the 2017 election and after it.”
Prosecution: Did you go after the murder?
Schembri: Yes, even after the murder.
Seeing Theuma at Fenech's ranch
11.40am Did Schembri meet Theuma on any other occasion?
Schembri: Once at my office and once at Yorgen’s ranch, I think, though I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t recognise him. He came to my office wearing a suit and he was dressed differently at the ranch, so I think that’s why I didn’t recognise him.
Prosecution: If you didn’t recognise him, how do you know he was at the ranch?
Schembri: Because I was told. But I don’t recall who told me.
Prosecution: Who else was at the ranch that day?
Schembri: I don’t remember.
Schembri: I didn't know about Melvin's taxi job
11.29am The prosecution tells Schembri that Melvin Theuma claims he first met Schembri at Yorgen Fenech’s ranch.
Schembri: If he was there, I didn’t recognise him.
Prosecution: What did he tell you when you met in your office?
Schembri: He said he needed a job. I told him I’d connect him to the person who could help.
Prosecution: So he didn’t tell you he worked as a taxi driver?
Schembri: No, he didn’t.
The prosecution notes that when Schembri testified before Magistrate Rachel Montebello, he said he had heard of Melvin previously, because he sometimes served as Yorgen Fenech's driver.
About that photo with Melvin Theuma
11.25am The prosecution asks about that infamous photo of Schembri with Melvin Theuma.
Schembri says it was taken in the run-up to the 2017 general election.
“He came to my office and asked for a photo. I didn’t know who he was, I would see lots of people at that time. I offered him a coffee and he asked for a photo with us standing in front of the photo of the prime minister. I called Sandro Craus to my office and he took the photo.”
People would call OPM customer care to book an appointment, he said.
Prosecution: Did you know Melvin Theuma was coming?
Schembri: No, nobody told me.
Prosecution: Did Yorgen Fenech tell you Melvin Theuma was coming?
Schembri: I don’t recall, my memory was affected by the cancer.
The photo police found in Melvin Theuma's box when they arrested him.Doing business
11.21am Schembri says though he and Fenech never did business together, his (Schembri’s) father had sold some plots of land to Fenech’s family.
He is asked when he visited Fenech’s house. He recalls one visit on “the day after Boxing Day” [December 27].
'We would chat over WhatsApp or Signal'
11.15am Schembri says he was closer to Fenech’s brother. He and Fenech lost touch for some years but remained friends.
He recalls meeting him again at Axis [nightclub]. They reconnected when he became OPM chief of staff in 2013.
“We would chat over WhatsApp or Signal, like I would speak to many others. We’d discuss family and business. Sometimes we’d speak every day, sometimes it would be weeks or months.
“Yorgen would also come to Castille sometimes due to the Electrogas project [Fenech is a shareholder in the power station consortium].
“When I had cancer in 2015, Yorgen came to my house twice and I went to his place twice. Sometimes I'd go to his ranch, his family would be there. And I went on his boat once too."
Schembri and Fenech were childhood friends
11.11am Schembri’s testimony begins. He will first be questioned by prosecutors, and then face questions from Fenech’s defence team.
He confirms he was chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister in 2017, when Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered. He had a direct line to the prime minister, he says.
Schembri says he and Fenech knew each other since their teens.
“I was 14, and Yorgen was 12,” he says.
Catch up on Schembri's alleged role
11.09am Few people have been mentioned in connection with this murder more than Keith Schembri.
Jacob Borg provides an overview of Schembri’s alleged involvement in the murder here.
Schembri instructed not to mention pardon request
11.06am The judge instructs Schembri not to mention anything related to Yorgen Fenech's attempt to get a presidential pardon. She also reminds him that he is free not to answer questions if he fears they could incriminate him.
Schembri replies: "I am going to reply to everything."
Keith Schembri in court
11.05am The judge has entered the courtroom. Keith Schembri is at the witness stand.
Jurors have not yet been brought back in.
30-minute break
10.35am The judge calls a 30-minute break. The hearing will resume at around 11am.
Another Europol expert
10.24am Another Europol expert testifies.
Daniel Fernandez was also involved in data analysis related to Melvin Theuma. He is shown his reports and lists of exhibits and confirms they are his work.
Deep in the weeds
10.15am The witness has been testifying in technical detail about data extraction from devices. Extraction for one of the devices had to be redone from scratch, and the defence is probing her about that.
Europol extraction of Theuma devices
9.51am A Europol forensics expert testifies. Margherita Luca was tasked with extracting data from devices seized as part of a money laundering inquiry into murder middleman Melvin Theuma.
Luca extracted data from devices belonging to Theuma and his family members. She is shown her reports and confirms they are her work.
Expert's screenshot conclusion
9.38am Bajada’s conclusion about the Cremona screenshots: "They’re not in call profiles for Keith Schembri or Johann Cremona. I can’t say if they were ever there, all I can say is that I didn’t find them."
Johann Cremona's screenshot
9.35am Bajada was asked to analyse a screenshot Johann Cremona presented in court while testifying. [Cremona alleged that it was evidence that Fenech’s lawyers were secretly communicating with Schembri ahead of his testimony in the case’s compilation of evidence].
The screenshot shows some Whatsapp text messages and indicates phone calls were exchanged.
Bajada says he could not corroborate the screenshot with call profiles he has of Schembri and Cremona’s phones. However, he acknowledges that if the conversation was deleted, it may not be recoverable.
The prosecution asks: Did you find chats between [Fenech’s lawyer] Charles Mercieca and Keith Schembri?
The witness says he was not asked to check that. Mercieca erupts in anger, prompting prosecutor Godwin Cini to tell him “Your reaction when Johann Cremona produced the screenshot was clear.”
IT expert testifies
9.25am Jurors are brought into the courtroom. So is the day’s first witness – and it’s not Keith Schembri.
IT expert Martin Bajada takes the stand.
Court upholds defence request
9.15am The court upholds the defence’s request: no witness can make any reference to the accused’s request for a pardon. The judge instructs prosecutors to avoid any questions “leading in that direction.”
Lawyers argue over pardon
9.10am Schembri and the jurors are not in the courtroom yet. First, there's some legal housekeeping to sort out.
After his arrest, Yorgen Fenech had sought to obtain a presidential pardon. Fenech's legal team has asked the court to instruct Schembri not to mention that. They also go one step further: if the court forbids mention of the pardon but Schembri mentions it anyway, they will ask for the jury to be dissolved.
Prosecutors object to that request. The request was a factual event, they say, and there is no reason why the witness should not be allowed to mention it.
Mentions of Keith Schembri
8.47am Keith Schembri was arrested in connection with this case in late 2019, around the same time when Fenech was first arrested. He was subsequently released without charge, but his name has popped up repeatedly in this trial – too many times to list them all.
Among other things, jurors have heard:
- Murder middleman Melvin Theuma tell Fenech’s associate Johann Cremona (in recorded conversations) that Schembri was also involved
- OPM security guard Kenneth Camilleri testify that Schembri sent him to calm Theuma
- Cremona testify that Schembri summoned him to Castille and asked him to keep tabs on Fenech
- Theuma’s friend Edgar Brincat testify that Theuma wanted to go to Schembri and demand money from him
- Lead investigator Keith Arnaud testify that a doctor admitted he collected a letter from Schembri to relay to Fenech. The letter implicated Chris Cardona in the murder
- Arnaud testified that Fenech told police he got a draft copy of Theuma’s presidential pardon from Schembri
Welcome
8.35am Good morning and welcome to this live blog. We're at the Valletta law courts, where this case will resume at around 9am.