A former business partner of 'Lilu King’ who alleged that an attempt was made to influence testimony he gave in court, declared on Monday that he had testified “the truth” and never felt threatened or pressured.

The man, whose name was banned by the court, was back on the witness stand in criminal proceedings against Mohamed Ali Ahmed Massarati, 31, and Mahmoud Mustafa Mohammed Aldabah, 26, brothers of Mohamed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty, the Paceville entrepreneur, known as Lilu King, currently charged with money laundering.

The two were arrested a fortnight ago after the witness testified how they had approached him days before in an apparent bid to influence his testimony.

The brothers were charged over that incident and were remanded in custody after pleading not guilty.

When their case kicked off on Monday, the witness testified about a call he had received from one of the brothers on June 7 while working at the Valletta Waterfront.

They messaged each other to confirm his location and that evening, around 7pm the brothers arrived in a taxi.

Shown printed screenshots of a WhatsApp chat, the witness confirmed the messages he had exchanged on his phone starting on June 6.

One of the brothers had called saying he wished to meet him and also mentioned some “appointment with Dr Franco”.

“But I never met Dr Franco,” said the witness.

As a former business partner of Elmushraty, the witness said that he had known the accused since 2019 or so.

That evening at the Valletta Waterfront, he was asked to say that a black Range Rover with the 'Lilu King' number plate actually belonged to him and that it had been purchased by the company he operated.

“Yes it was bought in my name but I never drove it,” explained the witness.

Car had €11,000 in fines

He said he had clearly told the brothers that he could not state such a thing as he had asked the car dealer to transfer the vehicle, along with some €11,000 in fines racked up, to Elmushraty.

He had taken steps to cancel the registration in his name so that the vehicle would be registered in the name of the actual owner, namely Elmushraty.

He could never pay for such a vehicle in cash, he insisted.

The witness said he had also told the brothers that “everyone knew that the car belonged to Lilu King”.

It was not just because of the number plate had his nickname but “because I cannot buy such a vehicle,” he stressed.

“I testified the truth.”

The witness said that after having testified in the proceedings against Elmushraty, he told police he felt afraid.

“Why are you afraid?” asked inspector Tonjoe Farrugia.

“I wished for protection so as not to have problems with them. Just protection for me and my family. I’m not saying they are criminals. I never said that,” explained the witness.

“So you did not feel threatened, bribed or pressured?” asked defence lawyer Charles Mercieca.

“To date, no,” replied the witness.

The prosecution requested the court to issue a protection order in favour of the witness and his young son.

The defence objected, arguing that the witness had just testified there had been no threats, promises or pressure.

“His only fear was due to the scale of the case. He never felt threatened by these two individuals,” argued the lawyer.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, upheld the request.

The court is to decree on another request for the appointment of a court expert to extract data from the brothers’ phones.

The prosecution said it needed that data to confirm whether there had been any communication with other third parties.

The defence strongly objected, arguing that the prosecution were on “a fishing expedition” and that such investigations should have been conducted before the men were arraigned.

The case continues next month.

Inspector Tonjoe Farrugia prosecuted. Lawyers Charles Mercieca and Jacob Magri were defence counsel.