Alleged leaks: No specific investigation into former police deputy chief

• Middleman’s new claims being probed

There is no specific investigation into former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta, despite constant references to him by the middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia case, sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Melvin Theuma, who has turned state witness to reveal all, had previously shone a light on the close friendship between Valletta and suspected murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech, and had claimed that Valletta was passing on information to Fenech.

Valletta had previously been part of the team investigating the journalist’s murder.

His name cropped up in court again this week, when the compilation of evidence against Fenech got underway again.

Fenech said that, on one occasion, he had seen Valletta at Yorgen Fenech’s home. Fenech later told Theuma that Valletta had recognized him. “He said your face was familiar.”

In February, Theuma had told the court that Valletta had passed on crucial details of the case, including Vince Muscat’s (one of the three suspected murderers) pardon request to Fenech.

Valletta was leading the Caruana Galizia murder investigation case until June 2018, after which he was forcibly removed by the Constitutional Court, following a case instituted by the Caruana Galizia family.

The family had requested the Court for Valletta to be removed from the investigative team since he had been the target of several criticisms by the journalist, as well as because his wife was a Government Minister. He was also a member of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). The Court agreed that the presence of Valletta did not guarantee an impartial investigation.

Following this order from the Constitutional Court, in August 2019, it was announced in the Government Gazette that Valletta had retired from the police corps and as a result no longer sat on the FIAU board.

Valletta had also set up briefings with then Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat and his Chief of Staff, Kieth Schembri, on the investigation.

It was eventually revealed that Fenech and Valletta had a close relationship, and that they had gone abroad together on at least two occasions. On September 2018, Fenech and Valletta had travelled to the UK to watch a football match, a time when Fenech had already been suspected by the police.

A video was also identified of Valletta “fooling around” in Fenech’s Rolls Royce. The video was extracted from the Fenech’s cell phone by the police.

Valletta’s wife, former Gozo Minister, Justyne Caruana, subsequently resigned.

Valletta had acknowledged his friendship with Fenech but denied having had any knowledge that the businessman was a suspect in the case.

Valletta had also declared that the video was shot after he had left the police force. He also insisted he had paid for the UK flights himself.

He had also said that when he had travelled with Fenech, he had not known he was a suspect, despite Fenech having been identified as early as May 2018, by the Malta Security Services.

When these revelations came to light, Valletta had given a statement to the police, but sources told this newsroom that it was simply an interview, although he was “cautioned”.

Should Valletta have been interrogated under arrest, the law would require “reasonable suspicion”, which it seems was not the case at the time.

Sources also said that, whilst there is an ongoing investigation into potential leaks from the investigation and Valletta is not being excluded, he is not being investigated specifically.

All claims being investigated

Meanwhile, sources said all claims made in court by Theuma are being probed. The middleman made a number of bombshell claims related to former Economy Minister Chris Cardona, including that he had suffered an overdose and that his number was found on a burner phone that was discarded in Marsa. Theuma also claimed that Cardona had facilitated a payment to the killers through one of his canvassers.

In an interview with Times of Malta, Cardona denied all the claims, arguing that Theuma’s allegations were based on hearsay and not on evidence.

Silvio Valletta