Silvio Valletta called off police meeting with Yorgen Fenech on 17 Black after ownership was revealed – Abdilla
Former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta was the one who called off a meeting which the Economic Crimes Unit was going to have with Yorgen Fenech in the week after it was revealed that Fenech owned the company 17 Black, the Head of the Economic Crimes Unit Ian Abdilla revealed in court on Friday.
Testifying in the public inquiry, made up of retired Judge Michael Mallia, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, and Madam Justice Lofaro, Abdilla recounted how he was in his car with a colleague on the way to Fenech’s Portomaso office when he received a phone call from Valletta telling him that Fenech was sick and to turn back.
Abdilla is currently an Assistant Commissioner within the Police Force, heading the Economic Crimes Unit. He has held that role since July 2018, having previously been superintendent as of 2015.
The most shocking part of Abdilla’s testimony was no doubt his recounting of a meeting which he was going to have with Yorgen Fenech and which was eventually postponed, in the week after it was revealed that Fenech was the owner of the secret company 17 Black.
17 Black was a Dubai-based company which, along with another one called Macbridge, was to pay the equivalent of €5,000 a day into the Panama companies which belonged to former Minister Konrad Mizzi and former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.
Jason Azzopardi at one point in the sitting rose to ask Abdilla about a meeting which was meant to take place between him and two colleagues – one being his driver, and another being Superintendent Ray Aquilina, and Yorgen Fenech at his Portomaso office.
“Who phoned you to tell you that this meeting would not take place?” Azzopardi asked. “Silvio Valletta phoned me and told me that he was sick,” Abdilla replied. “That who was sick?” Madam Justice Lofaro asked, seeking clarity - “Fenech, of course!” Azzopardi replied. Abdilla did not contest that point.
The meeting was in the week following, when it was revealed by Reuters and the Times of Malta that Fenech was the owner of 17 Black, and the subject of the meeting was in fact to be that same company.
Both Azzopardi and the board could not understand why Abdilla had decided to go to Fenech’s own office, as opposed to bringing him in to the depot to meet him. “Chris Cardona came to the depot, Keith Schembri came to the depot, the Judges accused of corruption were hauled into the depot – why did you have to go to Portomaso to see Fenech and not have him come to the depot?” Madam Justice Lofaro at one point questioned.
“Did Valletta tell you how he knew that Fenech was sick?” Azzopardi asked. “No he didn’t,” Abdilla replied. Azzopardi asked whether Abdilla was aware of the friendship between Valletta and Fenech, to which Abdilla replied “Absolutely not”.
The friendship between Valletta and Fenech was revealed earlier this year, ultimately leading to the resignation of Valletta’s wife Justyne Caruana from Cabinet. Valletta – who was for a period leading the investigation into the murder of Caruana Galizia – was exposed as having holidayed more than once with Fenech, while a video of him ‘fooling around’ in Fenech’s Rolls Royce also emerged. Fenech now stands charged with complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder.
Abdilla was willing to elaborate further on 17 Black: “I am one of the investigators into 17 Black and I can explain to you all the steps we took, but behind closed doors,” Abdilla told the board.
Abdilla was also asked about meetings he had with Keith Schembri. He said that he had met Schembri twice, within a couple of weeks of each other. The first meeting had taken place because Schembri himself had summoned Abdilla to Castille.
He explained that he had met Schembri after the two FIAU reports had been leaked in 2017, noting that he did not know what the nature of the meeting was to be. It was a 10 minute meeting, where Schembri asked what he thought about the investigations - and Abdilla told him to seek legal advice. “These were investigations which he was personally involved in,” Judge Said Pullicino stated, for clarity. “Yes,” Abdilla replied.
Azzopardi asked whether, following these meetings, Schembri had communicated with him through WhatsApp. Abdilla replied that he does not think so.
Abdilla was also asked about the incident where the owner of Pilatus Bank, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, was seen leaving the bank with a suitcase in hand right after Daphne Caruana Galizia had published her claim that the company Egrant belonged to Michelle Muscat and the documents of ownership were held in a safe inside the bank.
Abdilla said that they had “exhausted all avenues” in investigating this as part of the Egrant inquiry. He said that there is continuous CCTV footage of the suitcase while it was at the bank, and that Sadr had only removed a notebook and phone charger, and then put it back. There is a whole chapter in the Egrant inquiry on this subject, he said.
Sadr went home with the suitcase, he explained. “We searched the suitcase,” he said. “That same night?” Madam Justice Lofaro asked. “The day after,” Abdilla replied. He stated that there were no legal grounds at the time to arrest Sadr.
Speaking about the Economic Crimes Unit itself, Abdilla said that today the Unit is made up of 60 people, with seven inspectors focused on economic crimes and another four on money laundering. There are also two civilian financial analysts and a small unit on blockchain analysis is also in the pipeline, he explained.
Abdilla said that the Unit will soon move to a new building outside of the police depot and with a capacity of 120 workers. The building will have training facilities, analysis facilities, and interrogation rooms, amongst others.
“In my sector there is a plan,” Abdilla said. He noted that the plan was revised after the Moneyval recommendations as it was “not ambitious enough”. The money laundering unit, for instance, has to rise from its current level of 4 investigators, to 22 investigators, he said before later adding that he had received some support from former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and more from the current interim Police Commissioner Carmelo Magri.
The current complement is sizeably more than what there was in 2013, it emerged. Abdilla said that while he could not give an exact number, he reckoned there were around 25 to 30 people in the Unit at the time.
A specific date for the continuation of the inquiry is yet to be decided yet, with next week’s sessions cancelled due to measures related to the spread of COVID-19.