Melvin Theuma believed PL winning election would mean ‘they’ would be protected
Middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination Melvin Theuma told the court yesterday that he believed that if the Labour Party won the 2017 general election ‘ they’ would have been protected.
The compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech continued yesterday.
Fenech stands charged with complicity in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Middleman Melvin Theuma continued giving his testimony, as recordings he took of conversations he had with Yorgen Fenech were played in court.
During the sitting, a MaltaToday story was brought up, which Fenech sent to Theuma, on a survey conducted by the newspaper which showed that Labour were projected to win the 2017 election. Asked by Azzopardi why Fenech would send such a survey result to Theuma, Theuma told the court that Labour winning the general election would mean that they would be protected.
Theuma referred to the mobile phones found in the sea near the potato shed in Marsa and said that he feared it was his mobile. The potato shed is the location where the Degiorgio brothers and Vince Muscat used to hang out and where they were arrested in December 2017.
Theuma said Yorgen Fenech told him the police had found a mobile phone used between Alfred Degiorgio (one of the murder suspects) and Chris Cardona (former Minister and current PL deputy leader). Prosecuting Inspector Arnaud asked Theuma what he knew about the mobile phones found in the sea, and in
response, Theuma said that he had been told by Yorgen Fenech that police had found mobiles linking the Degiorgios to “around seven murders”.
Melvin Theuma said Yorgen Fenech told him that he was being informed by “sieħbi” (my friend). Asked by the magistrate who ‘sieħbi’ was, Theuma said it was Keith Schembri, the former OPM chief of staff.
As the sitting continued, Lawyer Jason Azzopardi was questioning Theuma, who said that that after asking Fenech what would happen if they were caught, Fenech told him that he would see to these things himself.
Jason Azzopardi asked: “How did you know it was Chris Cardona?”
“I first heard about Cardona, on television after the whole Acapulco situation… I assumed it was him after the news,” Theuma replied
One of the recordings played in court was taken on a day when Melvin Theuma had given Yorgen Fenech two bottles of whisky as a sign of gratitude for the €5,000 holiday Fenech had paid for him. Melvin Theuma confirmed that he had expressed concern about the Degiorgios being caught and feared they would spill the beans on the case and be given amnesty. Theuma said that if the Degiorgios got amnesty he would be blamed for everything.
Theuma said the Degiorgios only knew about him. The brothers were not acquainted with Yorgen Fenech. He added that he was very paranoid that he would be caught. “I was very scared… Yorgen Fenech is a lion and I am a mosquito, he knows everyone and I know no one,” Theuma told the court.
The witness also mentioned an Edwin Brincat, a friend of his, who he says he would go to speak to about his problems. Brincat goes by the nickname, ilĠojja. Asked what he told him: “Everything (Mhux kollox?)”
Theuma said that on the day he was arrested, he was convinced that he wanted to testify. He said that he had insisted on speaking to Inspector Arnaud as he knew that he was investigating the case.
Theuma spoke of his concerns and paranoia. When he used to speak to Yorgen Fenech about his worries, Fenech would tell him “they can kiss our… (ibusulna l...).”
Theuma said that he was close to telling police on multiple occasions but would remember that Yorgen Fenech is well known (jaf in-nies). “I sometimes drove to the Pietà police station but turned back... I admit, I wasn’t cut out for this,” he said. Theuma said that his paranoia nearly led him to organise a meeting between Alfred Degiorgio and Yorgen Fenech. The context of this is Theuma’s fear that he was the only one the Degiorgios knew since he had been the middleman between Fenech and the alleged murderers.
“I was on the brink… On the day they killed her, my life ended,” Theuma said. He added that as a result of the money laundering investigation in his regard, an account he had with HSBC was closed and Bank of Valletta had withdrawn a sanction letter for the purchase of a San Ġwann apartment complex. He also said that Yorgen Fenech was prepared to lend him money so he wouldn’t lose the complex of flats.
When Theuma was arrested, Yorgen Fenech had assured him he would be waiting for him outside the depot with pastizzi,
Theuma testified.
Theuma also told the court that Johann (a Yorgen Fenech business associate) had told him that he would be giving him a paper with a list of locations the police would be investigating. He said he had an argument with Yorgen Fenech the night before he (Theuma) was arrested. Theuma said that he is 99.9% certain that Yorgen had told him the police were coming for him on 16 November of last year.
Asked who would have given Yorgen Fenech that information, Theuma says he doesn’t know. Asked by the magistrate whether the informant was Keith Schembri or Silvio Valletta, Theuma said he doesn’t know.
Theuma said he told Fenech to talk with ‘that guy from Luqa’ (ta’ Ħal Luqa). He told the court that the reference was to then Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar. The day Melvin Theuma was arrested, Edwin Brincat was also arrested.
Theuma said he bluffed by using the police commissioner’s name with Yorgen Fenech. “I told Yorgen the commissioner knew about the recordings. I admit it, I bluffed using the police commissioner. I wanted to make it seem people were on my side.”
Theuma said that he met with the police commissioner at the depot when he was arrested. “Before the arrest, I swear I had never met the police commissioner,” Theuma says.
Asked by the magistrate about Keith Schembri and how he came to mention him by name, Theuma said he arrived at the conclusion after hearing the news about Schembri. “I arrived at that conclusion after what I had heard… I jigsaw puzzled his involvement in my mind.”
He insisted that he cannot testify on Schembri’s alleged involvement in the murder. Theuma said he once went to wait for Keith Schembri outside Castille to ask him to tell Yorgen Fenech to switch his phone on. However, he didn’t meet him.
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi asked Theuma about the date of the arrest and about a transcript of messages between him and Yorgen Fenech. Date of message: 12 November 2019 Theuma asks: “You forgot me? (Nsejtni sieħbi?)”
Yorgen Fenech responds: “Relax, we will make it (Serraħ rasek, naslu).”
Theuma said Fenech was meant to give him a list of locations where police would be carrying out raids. He later confirmed that the list of locations where the raids were going to be carried out was never given to him. Theuma said he was angry at the lack of information provided by Fenech.
Jason Azzopardi asked about a message from Fenech to make sure “everywhere is clean, not only on this.” Theuma responded that Fenech was referring to the pen drives. In the conversation, there were also calls that discussed the money laundering arrest.
Theuma said that he was not prepared to dispose of the pen drives, stating he was always prepared to reveal everything, “as Johann knows”.
Melvin Theuma said his agreement with Yorgen Fenech was that after his arrest, he would be asked four questions, and everything would be done with (barra bid-daqq). Theuma was speaking of his own impending arrest on money laundering charges. Theuma said that the arrest had to be made by Ray Aquilina, an economic crimes inspector.
Azzopardi asked: “Who was the guy who informed you about the arrest?” Theuma replied that he is 99.9% sure that it was Yorgen Fenech.
Theuma revealed during the sitting that they sometimes referred to Keith Schembri as ‘KK’.
Melvin Theuma said that one time he had been asked by Fenech to stand guard outside Keith Schembri’s house. Theuma had informed Fenech that he was going to Gozo with his family. But Theuma also questioned Yorgen on the need to stand guard and Fenech answered that Schembri did not trust anyone.
Asked by the magistrate how he linked Muscat (il-Koħħu) with Keith Schembri, Theuma said he arrived at that conclusion following the Kenneth Camilleri incident. Kenneth Camilleri had formed part of the prime minister’s security detail and was a close friend of Keith Schembri. In previous sittings it emerged that Camilleri had gone to visit Theuma with a promise that bail would be granted to the Degiorgios and Muscat.
On the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death, Theuma had said it would put him in the grave: “They would eliminate me before something came out.” But Fenech had assured him that “no one would hurt you”.
On 17 October, Theuma wrote to Fenech: “I don’t want to worry you, I am very sad, I wasn’t in the wrong, the government is launching another inquiry.” But Fenech assured him that as long as he is there no one would hurt him. Asked why he was using the word “them”, Theuma said that it referred to the hit men that Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech might have employed to kill him. Theuma insisted he would put Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri in the same group. They were very good friends, he said.
Azzopardi asked Theuma about another text message he received from Yorgen Fenech, where Fenech told Theuma that he was “going to also stick his neck out for him with regard to this money laundering business too.” Azzopardi asked what the “also” referred to, with Theuma clarifying that Fenech was implying he would be sticking his neck out for Theuma for both the money laundering and Daphne’s murder.
Referring to yet another message on 16 October 2018 Theuma said Fenech was troubled on that occasion. Theuma told the court that he and Yorgen Fenech also felt worried and troubled when the monthly protests organised by civil society demanding justice for Daphne took place.
The magistrate asked Theuma whether Fenech had ever mentioned to him that there were a number of people involved in the murder. Theuma replied that Fenech had not mentioned this. “He never mentioned Keith Schembri [as being implicated in the murder], he only told me he got the information from him,” Theuma told the court.
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi’s line of questioning turned to the infamous party Joseph Muscat held at the official Girgenti residence in February 2019, for which Yorgen Fenech was a guest, and in which he gifted the then prime minister fine Petrus wine worth thousands of euro. Theuma said he got to know about the Girgenti party after Fenech told him about it as Theuma was driving him to the actual party.
Magistrate Rachel Montebello is hearing the compilation of evidence against Fenech.
The defence lawyers are Marion Camilleri and Gianluca Caruana Curran
The prosecution is being led by inspectors Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra, assisted by the Attorney General.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are appearing parte civile for the Caruana Galizia family.