Keith Schembri arrested and interrogated after court orders asset freeze

Former OPM chief of Staff Keith Schembri was being interrogated under arrest at the police headquarters yesterday.

His arrest, along with that of Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna and Karl Cini, came after a court ordered the freezing of their assets, as well as the assets of several other individuals and companies over possible money laundering.

The freezing of their assets was ordered on Monday through a court decree by Madam Justice Edwina Grima.

The decree came just days after the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry into claims that Schembri took a €100,000 kickback, from Tonna, on passport sales. The conclusions of the inquiry are not yet known. The inquiry was requested by former Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil in April 2017 – only weeks before the general election was called.

Keith Schembri’s lawyers, walking out of the police headquarters in Floriana yesterday afternoon, said that they will not take part in their client’s interrogation process until the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry on the alleged kickbacks are made public.

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo entered the police headquarters at around 2.30pm and gave a comment to the press when they left, around an hour later.

“Basically, we are insisting that the police tell us what the conclusions of the inquiry were, as to whether it was true or not there were kickbacks,” Gatt said.

“We are insisting that the truth is made public and we are also insisting that they disclose what the conclusions of the inquiring magistrate were. Before these conclusions are made public, we are not going to participate in the interrogation process.”

Asked if Schembri was still insisting that the €100,000 were related to a loan repayments, as Schembri had said in the past, Gatt said: “My client testified within the acts of the inquiry. From now on, what is important is not what my client said. What is important are the conclusions made by the magistrate.”

Asked whether charges will be issued, Gatt said this question should be put to the Commissioner of Police.

The Daphne Foundation, in a statement, welcomed the arrest of Keith Schembri on suspicions of serious financial crime.

The foundation said that the action against Schembri was long overdue. “For three and a half years, the Malta Police Force and the Attorney General failed in their legal obligations to act against Schembri. A magistrate’s inquest conducted in secret, whose findings remain secret, is no substitute for justice,” the Foundation said.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was also asked about the issue yesterday. Speaking to MaltaTo-day, Abela said that the court decree freezing Schembri’s assets is a sign of “good governance.”

Speaking to MaltaToday, Abela refused to consider that inquiries should be held on such major projects such as the Electrogas power plant or the Individual Investor Programme.

“I speak for my administration... there’s no doubt that all the institutions are robust, they’re discharging their duties without interference. This is the country I believe in: strong economic growth coupled with good governance,” Abela told the newspaper. He added that any shortcomings must be investigated.

Keith Schembri resigned as OPM Chief of Staff in January of this year after he was linked to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech has claimed that Schembri was in on the murder and that the former Chief of Staff was leaking him information from the murder investigation. Schembri has vehemently denied these claims but admits he was close to Fenech. Schembri has been linked to several government scandals over the past seven years. A few weeks ago, a public inquiry into the Caruana Galizia murder heard government ministers complain about a “kitchen cabinet” led by Schembri, and which effectively bypassed the actual Cabinet. The inquiry board was told that Schembri had “too much power.” Schembri was also implicated in the Panama Papers, and had opened a company in the secretive jurisdiction together with former minister Konrad Mizzi. He was also the subject of a number of leaked FIAU investigations.