Rosianne Cutajar had an intimate relationship with Yorgen Fenech which she kept under wraps. That, in itself, hinted at the “illicit” state of affairs, author Mark Camilleri said in court. 

The former National Book Council chairman was testifying in libel proceedings filed against him by Cutajar, who resigned from the Labour Party’s parliamentary group earlier this year. 

Fenech showered her with gifts and monies which Cutajar willingly accepted while standing up for him in local and European public places after the former top businessman was outed as the owner of secret company 17 Black, Camilleri said.

The defamation suit was triggered by Camilleri’s claims that Cutajar and Fenech were in a romantic relationship and that she was defending him from allegations that he was involved in corrupt deals with former top politicians. 

Although well aware of the situation, Cutajar kept her relationship secret, Camilleri claimed.

Yorgen Fenech. File photo

Earlier in the proceedings, Cutajar’s lawyers requested the reversal of the burden of proof after Camilleri's lawyer argued that what he had written was substantially true. 

When the case resumed on Thursday, the hearing was scheduled for Cutajar to testify. 

She was meant to do so in May but her lawyers had presented a medical certificate attesting that the now-independent MP, who was pregnant at the time, had been advised not to attend court for medical reasons. 

On Thursday, her lawyer explained she was absent for reasons not divulged in open court. She would, however, be attending the next hearing. 

Camilleri took the witness stand instead, defending his claims and supplying details about the context of the Facebook post which had triggered the suit. 

WhatsApp chats proved claims, Camilleri says

It all began when Camilleri was publishing extracts to promote his new book, A Rentseeker’s Paradise, and one of the stories in that book dealt with the “illicit” relationship between Cutajar and Fenech, a major businessmen. 

Camilleri told court that when writing his book and posting on Facebook, he was aware of the contents of thousands of WhatsApp chats between Cutajar and Fenech. 

He released those chats earlier this year, on the eve of a libel hearing. 

“So what I was saying was objectively proven by substantial information,” testified Camilleri. 

That information showed Cutajar had an intimate relationship with the man who was involved in major government projects, with substantial evidence indicating that he was allegedly laundering funds for former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and ex-minister Konrad Mizzi. 

Camilleri said he had investigated that relationship and divulged the details in his book, describing it as “corrupt” because Fenech was being investigated as a suspect in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder.

At the same time, around 2017, evidence about his Dubai-based secret company 17 Black emerged.

That company appeared to have been used to transfer funds to Schembri and Mizzi. 

And, all the while, as information surfaced, Cutajar kept up her relationship with Fenech, “defending him both in the Maltese Parliament and also at the Council of Europe”.

She accepted gifts and monies and allegedly helped Fenech on a property deal. 

“She, who had no experience in estate agency, was suddenly chosen by one of Malta’s top businessmen to help him on a property deal. Fenech definitely didn’t need her to do business,” remarked Camilleri. 

The two had an intimate relationship, he insisted. “They loved each other, slept together and travelled abroad together, including to Paris.” 

'Openly' defended corruption

Yet, Cutajar never disclosed that relationship and “that in itself showed its illicit nature”.

“She’s a vain person, always posting on Facebook… but she made an exception with respect to Yorgen Fenech,” said Camilleri, arguing that were the relationship not illicit, Cutajar would have posted about it too. 

The former Labour MP also “directly, openly and publicly” defended the corruption between Fenech and Maltese politicians.

She was also the subject of a report by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life who, in his conclusions, reported that Cutajar’s behaviour amounted to a possible crime and a lack of ethics. 

“That relationship was clearly not ordinary,” stressed Camilleri. 

Asked by presiding Magistrate Rachel Montebello whether that Commissioner’s report was published before or after Camilleri’s writing, the witness said that the document was exhibited in the records of the libel case. 

Asked whether the politician had received money from Fenech before she defended him in public, Camilleri said that Cutajar had received the money before she went to the Council of Europe. 

But that was as far as the money Camilleri had knowledge of through the WhatsApp chats he had published. 

“However, I have evidence that government members did not only communicate with Fenech on WhatsApp. More serious matters were discussed on Signal.”

When publishing his book in 2021, Camilleri was aware of the contents of those WhatsApp exchanges and what he wrote was “objectively proved by substantial information”.

He had started writing the book that same year. 

“So did you write it in one year,” asked Gatt. 

“In three months,” Camilleri promptly replied. 

The case continues next month. 

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo are assisting Cutajar. Lawyer Joseph Mizzi is assisting Camilleri.