Former prime minister Joseph Muscat has declined to elaborate when he first gained insight into Keith Schembri “business plans” with 17 Black, the once-secret company owned by murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.

Muscat was first confronted about 17 Black shortly after slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia uploaded a post about the company on her blog in February 2017.

Fenech stands accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder in October 2017, an accusation he denies.

The post contained photos of Muscat, Schembri, former EU Commissioner John Dalli and former Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi under the title: 17 Black – the name of a company incorporated in Dubai.

The post published by Daphne Caruana Galizia to her blog.

When Muscat was questioned about the post five days later and asked specifically about 17 Black, he dismissively claimed to have “no idea” what the journalist was talking about.

Asked by Times of Malta to state when he had found out who was behind 17 Black, the former prime minister pointed to his inquiry testimony.

“I have nothing to add to what I said during five hours of grilling by three judges and two opposition MPs during the public inquiry and confirm the comment I gave in 2017,” he said.

Following revelations by Times of Malta and Reuters in 2018 about 17 Black’s ownership, Muscat steadfastly maintained that he saw no reason to ask Schembri what his plans were with the company.

A leaked e-mail revealed by the Daphne Project showed plans by Schembri and Mizzi to receive substantial cash injections from 17 Black into offshore Panama structures secretly set up to obscure their ownership.

Muscat changed tack about 17 Black during the public inquiry into the journalist’s murder last week, saying when he asked Schembri about it, his chief of staff said it was a “business matter” between him and Fenech.

Schembri also changed his version of events about 17 Black when testifying in the compilation of evidence against Fenech in June.

Muscat’s former right-hand man finally admitted after two years of denial he knew Fenech was behind the company.

Prior to his testimony, Schembri had even claimed he was unaware of the Nexia BT e-mail linking his Panama company to 17 Black.

Schembri said on the witness stand that he had listed 17 Black as a target client because Fenech was a good friend of his and a person with whom he wished to do business in the future, once he left politics.

The former chief of staff has always claimed that he stopped his business dealings when he took up the position in 2013, a claim echoed by Muscat... yet he went on to admit in court that he was planning to do business with Fenech.