Business tycoon Yorgen Fenech had admitted to cocaine possession in Houston Texas and was sentenced to a one-month jail term by an American court, from which there was no appeal, a police inspector said on Wednesday.

Inspector Kurt Zahra, one of the investigators in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, was testifying in court in proceedings by Fenech, who is claiming his rights are being breached when he is repeatedly denied bail.

Fenech has been under arrest since November 2019, when he was accused of being an accomplice in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.  

The court was not told whether Fenech served the jail sentence in the US, though online reports suggest it was converted to a period in a rehab centre.

Last month, Zahra was ordered to present a series of chats retrieved from Fenech’s mobile phone upon his arrest.

The chats were requested as evidence to prove Fenech’s business relations and connections abroad.

On Wednesday, Fenech’s lawyers asked Zahra to confirm whether the businessman had a clean criminal record.

“I believe so,” he replied.

That question was taken up further by lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia, representing the Caruana Galizia family, who asked about Fenech’s record abroad.

The inspector confirmed that Fenech had been found in possession of cocaine in Houston, Texas, landing a one-month jail sentence.

Questioned further by Fenech's lawyer Charles Mercieca, Zahra said that there was “intelligence” on the matter.

“Was there an appeal?” Mercieca asked.

“He [Fenech] pleaded guilty. There was no process. He just signed documents,” replied the witness.

Earlier questions pivoted around the conversations gathered from Fenech’s phone, referred to at the previous testimony by the police officer.

One chat involved Salman Rahman, a cabinet minister in Bangladesh with whom Fenech had discussed several projects that he was apparently planning to undertake in that country.

Asked about Rahman’s integrity and whether he was the subject of adverse media, Zahra said that he was not aware of any criminal investigations but only of “certain issues in the past” when the politician had been questioned about some business deals.

He had gathered this information from open sources on the internet, Zahra explained.

Other persons involved in chats with Fenech were Electrogas commercial director Catherine Halpin and former PN media official Pierre Portelli.

“Those are not criminals. Do you confirm?“ said Mercieca.

“I don’t know what makes a criminal and what not. What I can say is that there are no investigations in their regard,” the inspector replied. 

As for SOCAR representatives Turab Musayev and Libyan national Hayal Ahmadzada, Zahra said he had no information to add and could not exclude any investigations possibly handled by other police units which fell outside his remit as member of the homicide squad.

One particular chat titled “Libya” had focused on business projects.

“Did those speculative conversations ever lead to work being done?” asked Mercieca.

The inspector replied that his investigations within the ambit of the Caruana Galizia murder had been limited to the data found on the suspect’s phone.

“I cannot tell if that chat led to some conclusion. Whether it materialized or not I cannot tell.”

Zooming in on Fenech’s family and business ties, Zahra said he could not confirm whether Fenech’s immovable assets belonged to him personally or to Tumas Group.

When Mercieca pointed out that Tumas Group were a local business and that Fenech’s property was hit by two freezing orders issued in separate criminal proceedings, Zahra voiced uncertainty as to whether those court orders had since been varied and reduced.

That would mean that certain properties, specifically acquired through inheritance, may have been released.

Following his arrest after allegedly planning to flee on board his yacht, Fenech had been granted police bail four times until his arraignment, the court was told. 

Throughout that period, police officers were stationed on guard at Fenech’s residence, upon the suspect’s own request, pointed out Mercieca.

But Zahra corrected him, pointing out that there had been agreement between the parties, adding that at one point Fenech’s lawyers had no longer wanted police presence but had subsequently changed their minds.

“Having police on guard against the will of a person would amount to arrest,”argued Mercieca. “And during those days, Fenech knew well that he was to be arraigned,”pressed the lawyer.

The inspector disagreed, explaining that he was under the impression that Fenech did not know that he was to be arraigned.

At the time there had been an attempt to remove lead investigator Keith Arnaud from the case and there appeared to be attempts to delay Fenech’s interrogation, went on Zahra.

Under further questioning by Comodini Cachia, the witness said that the murder investigation was “very complex.”

Police had not planned to arrest Fenech at that time but were focusing on questioning Melvin Theuma who had just been arrested and to map the way forward depending on the conclusions reached.

But then suddenly, early one November morning, Zahra said he had received a call from Arnaud telling him that Fenech had been arrested shortly after sailing out from Portomaso marina.

The court, presided over by Madam Justice Miriam Hayman, granted the parties three weeks each to file written submissions.

The case now moves to the final stage when oral submissions will be made in March.

Lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran, Charles Mercieca and Marion Camilleri are assisting Fenech.

Lawyer Maurizio Cordina appeared on behalf of the State Advocate…

Lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi appeared on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family