Yorgen Fenech named others in Daphne murder during 2019 interrogation
Yorgen Fenech told police following his 2019 arrest that then OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri was behind the plan to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia, and claimed that former prime minister Joseph Muscat and two other people knew of Schembri’s alleged involvement.
Jurors on Tuesday followed audio-visual footage of Fenech’s interrogation soon after his arrest in 2019.
“There are three people in the country who definitely know that it was Keith Schembri, not me. These are the prime minister, Adrian Vella and Johann Cremona. They all found out after the fact,” Fenech told Inspector Kurt Zahra during the interrogation.
Fenech has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder.
Caruana Galizia, a columnist with The Malta Independent, was killed in a car bomb on 16 October 2017.
Five men have already been convicted in connection with Caruana Galizia’s assassination. Vince Muscat admitted his role in the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. Alfred and George Degiorgio each received 40-year prison sentences after pleading guilty in 2022, while Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025 for supplying the bomb used in the attack.
The prosecution is being led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, assisted by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. Fenech is represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Giannella de Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.
Judge Edwina Grima is presiding.
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18:15: Inspector Kurt Zahra’s testimony is paused for today, but defence lawyer Charles Mercieca has one final submission to make.
Jurors have left the courtroom.
Mercieca tells the court that a Facebook post “from a particular society” has gone up making claims such as “Yorgen Fenech is guilty” and that Fenech had sought a presidential pardon.
Mercieca did not mention the name of the group in open court.
He describes the statements as incorrect and “fake news,” saying they are intended to create a particular impression about Fenech.
The court is also told that jurors may meet members of their families who have access to Facebook, and that such posts are not “written for nothing.”
The judge tells Mercieca that court marshals supervise the jurors at all times when they’re in contact with their families.
“Put your mind at rest,” she says.
He says one such post went up on Facebook three hours ago.
Mercieca insists that everyone knows these things are not supposed to happen.
The judge asks him to give her a printout indicating such posts.
Mercieca says the matter cannot be brushed aside, and asks the registrar to look into what needs to be done to have the post taken down immediately.
With that, today’s sitting comes to an end. The trial continues tomorrow.
18:05: Zahra then turns to the circumstances surrounding Fenech’s arrest.
He says investigators found a string of chats which, taken together with the circumstances of his arrest, pointed to an attempt to make a run for it.
Among them were conversations with his brother Franco, “Uncle Ray,” and Logan Wood, the boat captain.
In one exchange, Fenech tells the captain: “Please, no crew.”
He tells Uncle Ray: “Please, no cash,” while also making arrangements for the children.
18:01: Zahra says police also looked into documents which the doctor allegedly collected from Keith Schembri and passed on to Fenech while Fenech was on police bail.
Among the documents was the infamous letter allegedly implicating Chris Cardona in the murder.
The doctor had apparently handed over two bundles of documents.
Zahra says the doctor confirmed that he had passed on documents to Fenech on one occasion.
Fenech, however, denied ever receiving any documents.
17:58: On the alleged attempt to get Fenech to Gozo after his arrest, Zahra says that police confronted both Dr Adrian Vella and Keith Schembri over whether there had been an attempt to spirit Fenech away through Gozo.
Both denied it.
The doctor’s explanation was that Fenech going to Gozo was simply part of an attempt to buy time to allow Fenech to put together a legal team, Zahra says.
17:56: Inspector Zahra then turns to the amounts mentioned by Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech.
He says the two accounts broadly line up, with both men putting the amount paid out at around €400,000 to €450,000, including money intended for Degorgios and others.
Zahra says Theuma had also handed over a receipt from the lawyer, setting out the amount of money that had been paid.
The document, he says, records the amount that went towards the lawyer’s fees.
17:50: The prosecution turns to documents relating to Fenech’s claim that he felt threatened by Melvin Theuma.
Zahra had told the court that police had found nothing to substantiate that allegation.
The prosecution says he will now take him through a series of messages between Fenech and Theuma. Theuma had Fenech saved in his phone as ‘Yurgin.’
In one message, where Theuma speaks about his impending arrest, he tells Fenech: “At least don’t touch my family. Don’t hurt my family.”
Theuma then tells Fenech: “Look, see if you can speak to that guy from Ħal Luqa.” That “guy” is ostensibly Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.
Fenech replies: “Look, make sure you’re cleaning everything up. I’m not just talking about money laundering.”
17:45: Proceedings finally get underway again, and Zahra continues testifying.
He again points to the inconsistencies in Fenech’s statements: for instance, Fenech said that they had used burner phones from the end of 2016 onwards, but analysis showed that there was no activity on the phones at that time.
17:28: There is a delay to proceedings as the judge and jurors are yet to re-emerge into the courtroom.
16:36: Zahra testifies that Fenech’s statements on the earlier aborted plan to have Caruana Galizia killed made little sense, likewise with Fenech’s suggestion that this plan was resurrected in 2016, as records show that the burner phones used were only first switched on in August 2017.
The court pauses for a short break until 5pm.
16:29: Asked about the gun that was mentioned during the interrogation – a gun that Theuma allegedly brandished onto a table in front of Fenech, Zahra said that the gun never showed up in recordings and police had no evidence to suggest that Theuma had bought a gun.
Zahra also pointed out inconsistencies in Fenech’s account of the meeting with Muscat at Girgenti. Fenech told interrogators that he and Muscat spoke in a private room about Theuma, but text messages from after the party show Fenech telling Muscat that he had been shy and did not want to approach him as he was surrounded by people.
In the recordings, Fenech is also always heard saying that Schembri had been sharing information about Theuma’s arrest, and not Muscat, as Fenech had suggested during the interrogation.
16:18: Back into court now, prosecutors continue questioning Zahra on the witness stand.
He is asked whether the content of Fenech’s interrogation tallied up with his investigation, to which the inspector replied that Fenech at the time was close to Deputy Commissioner Silvio Valletta, yet never made any mention of threats towards him from Theuma.
Zahra also notes that there was no point during Theuma’s recordings where Fenech sounded like he was threatened, and added that there was an imbalance of power between the two: Fenech could take Theuma’s Portomaso taxi spot away whenever he pleased, and Theuma had to go through a receptionist before visiting Fenech at his office.
16:14: Fenech told interrogators that he was ready to “uncover what there is in this country, with proof of bank transactions and details of events.”
He told Zahra that he had asked for a confrontation with Vella, Theuma, and Schembri while under arrest, and that he had asked for a pardon but investigators didn’t even ask him what he was offering in terms of information, instead choosing to rely on “Keith Schembri’s version of events.”
Zahra said that Fenech can give his own version at any point he wished.
“I am very sad. I used to be proud to be Maltese but I no longer am because this is an evil cover-up. But I am convinced the truth will emerge,” Fenech said.
With that, his four-hour interrogation came to an end.
16:00: Zahra asked Fenech whether he had told his wife about Theuma’s threats, but Fenech replied that his wife had only found out about the situation in the summer of 2018 while he was in rehab abroad. She had found out because Theuma called her one night at 3am saying that “they” were coming for him and that he had to speak to Yorgen.
Asked whether he had told his wife not to speak to her because he’s, as he said, “of the worst kind”, Fenech said that he had implied it – to which Zahra pointed out that he never told her directly. “If it were me and there was someone I thought was dangerous…,” Zahra suggests.
Fenech replied that Theuma had stopped picking them up by then.
15:52: Camilleri then focused her questions on Fenech’s allegation that Theuma had blackmailed him. She asked him why he had continued talking to Theuma despite knowing that he was being recording, to which Fenech said that he felt threatened.
There were other instances: one such instance was when Theuma had collected Fenech’s wife and children from the airport and then sent him a photo of them, saying ‘what beautiful children you have.’ Fenech said that he was furious after that.
He continued that he had tried to cut contact with Theuma in 2016 by engaging other taxi drivers when he needed, but Theuma would still contact him and ask why he wasn’t using his services. “I figured I should be careful. Keep your enemies closer,” Fenech said.
15:46: Fenech was then questioned by his own lawyer Marion Camilleri, who was within him at the interrogation.
To her, he said that he had never met Daphne in his life. Zahra pointed out that, according to Theuma, Fenech had said that she would be publishing a story about him.
“No. Did she ever publish anything about me?,” Fenech questioned back, to which Zahra mentioned 17 Black. Fenech however said that Daphne’s allegation had been that the company belonged to John Dalli.
Asked whether Fenech ever spoke to Theuma about his uncle, Fenech said that Theuma knew Ray Fenech well but he never discussed his uncle in relation to Caruana Galizia.
On how he knew that his phone was being tapped, Fenech said that both Schembri and Muscat had told him at one of those two meetings. “He told me ‘stay sharp because they’re listening to you too’,” Fenech said.
Camilleri asked Fenech whether Theuma had given him recordings, to which Fenech replied that he could not remember. “”He used to threaten you with them, but I understand they never came into your possession,” she told him, to which Fenech replied that he wasn’t going through an easy period at the time.
Asked what else Theuma gave him, Fenech referred to the letter, an employment contract that Schembri had sorted out for him [the infamous phantom job] and his photo with Keith.
15:37: Fenech told investigators that not only had he not listened to Theuma’s recordings, but he had thrown them away.
Zahra pointed out to Fenech that he and Schembri seemed to be close friends. “It doesn’t seem like we were,” Fenech replied – to Zahra telling him that he’s not going to be the one to judge on that.
Zahra asked Fenech why he wouldn’t mention this version with the Prime Minister involved at any point, to which Fenech replied that if one is asking for a pardon from someone they would try to avoid that same person in it.
“It’s also out of a sense of responsibility. It’s not nice to reach the point where you mention the prime minister of a country,” Fenech said. “But I have to defend myself and tell the truth,” he added. Here he banged his head on the table.
“Let me be clear, I’m not saying the prime minister was involved in the plot nor that he knew beforehand. But he knew afterwards and spoke to me twice,” Fenech said.
15:30: Fenech continued telling investigators about the Castille meeting with Muscat, saying that Muscat had told him that the raid had to go ahead due to pressure from abroad, including from Europol.
“Why did the prime minister have to tell you about the raid? You have no control over the raid,” Zahra asked Fenech, to which the businessman replied that his job was to “prepare Melvin” so that nothing useful would be found by investigators from the raid.
“Just like how Keith told me to prepare Melvin when he was going to be arrested three weeks ago,” Fenech added.
Fenech said that he did not speak to Muscat again after that meeting, save for a few text messages related to day-to-day things such as football and cooking.
15:25: Fenech said under interrogation that the Castille meeting was put together by Schembri, and during that meeting Muscat told him and Schembri – who was present – that Theuma would have to be raided by the summer. Theuma was eventually arrested in November 2019.
Both the meeting in Girgenti and at Castille took place in January or February of 2019, Fenech said.
Zahra asked Fenech why the Prime Minister would be asking him about all of this if he wasn’t involved in the murder, and Fenech replied that it was because Theuma was naming him in his recordings.
Asked whether Theuma had given him some recordings, Fenech said that he had never listened to them, but that Theuma had once said “try mess with me and you’ll find out” as a threat.
15:19 Inspector Kurt Zahra resumed the questioning by asking Yorgen Fenech to elaborate on his previous claim that Joseph Muscat, Adrian Vella, and Johann Cremona definitely knew Keith Schembri was behind the assassination. Fenech clarified that they knew Schembri’s entire involvement from start to finish, believing they were unaware before the murder but learned over the preceding two years that Fenech had nothing to do with it and was only covering for Schembri.
When Zahra asked how Fenech knew they were aware, Fenech insisted he never involved them himself, pointing instead to Vella bringing him the scripts and taking him to Gozo with Schembri, and stating that Cremona knew through Melvin Theuma and Kenneth Camilleri alongside his numerous recent conversations with Schembri. Regarding the Prime Minister, Fenech claimed Muscat had summoned him previously and later spoke with him upstairs at a party in Girgenti regarding Melvin Theuma, asking what Theuma knew about Schembri. Fenech stated he told the Prime Minister he was protecting Schembri, after which Muscat allegedly informed him that a raid on Theuma had to be carried out and instructed him to control Theuma to ensure nothing was found.
15:10 The court is back in session and jurors are continuing to watch the police interrogation of Yorgen Fenech after his arrest in 2019.
15:07 We’ve heard three parts of Fenech’s police interrogation so far this morning, with more footage to come as Inspector Kurt Zahra’s testimony continues.
The recordings cover Fenech’s questioning at the police depot following his arrest in November 2019.
This morning, jurors have been taken through parts of two days of interrogation- 29 and 30 November- including recordings made by Melvin Theuma that police played to Fenech.
15:01 The court is yet to resume, so here’s a quick recap of what we’ve heard from Fenech’s interrogation this morning:
Fenech told police that Schembri gave him a script and promised him a pardon if he followed it.
He said he had repeatedly gone out of his way to protect Schembri, whom he regarded as a brother.
Fenech claimed Schembri had been looking for someone to “get rid of” Daphne Caruana Galizia as early as 2014.
He said Schembri had allegedly put up €30,000 towards an earlier, aborted murder plot.
Fenech also claimed Schembri had told him he wanted him to leave Malta, with a plan involving Adrian Vella and an escape to Tunisia and then Dubai.
He said Melvin Theuma had blackmailed him and kept demanding money, and that he eventually became dependent on drugs after the alleged blackmail began.
When pressed over his passing of hundreds of thousands of euros to the hitmen, Fenech said he had been trying to protect Schembri and put a stop to the situation.
He named Joseph Muscat, Adrian Vella and Johann Cremona as three people who, he claimed, could corroborate his allegations about Schembri.
13:00: Zahra pushed on Fenech’s €400,000 accusation, suggesting to him that he had done nothing yet apparently gave Theuma that sum of money. “I was trying to protect Keith Schembri too,” Fenech replied.
Just as the interrogation was to end, Fenech made a point: “I’m very upset that the moment I started telling the truth and mentioning Keith Schembri, the attitude towards us became hostile.”
“There are three people in the country who definitely know that it was Keith Schembri, not me. These are the prime minister, Adrian Vella and Johann Cremona. They all found out after the fact,” he told Zahra.
On that note, the judge pauses proceedings for the lunch break. The case will continue at 3pm.
12:45: The same line of questioning continued – and Fenech continued to deny his involvement as he was interrogated.
He said that Theuma was blackmailing him, and alleged that the middleman took “around €400,000”, adding that his situation was “psychological.”
Asked whether he had a drug habit, Fenech said that he did and that it started after Theuma started to blackmail him.
In the interrogation, Zahra asked Fenech was he was so afraid of – but Fenech would not budge: “I’ll clarify at the opportune moment,” he replied.
12:43: Fenech appears fidgety in the interrogation footage: he leans forward, fiddles with his short collar, looks frequently at the ceiling, and sometimes interjects as recordings are played out to him.
In the interrogation, Fenech denies a suggestion by Zahra that he had instructed Theuma to have Caruana Galiza killed because of information she had about his uncle, Ray Fenech.
Asked by Zahra whether the request was made because Caruana Galizia had already published information about 17 Black, Fenech replied “Why are you asking again? I already denied it.”
Fenech also rejects the idea that he had called Theuma to stop the assassination plot as soon as the 2017 general election was called, and then called him again after the election to give the go ahead for the plot to continue.
“You only believe what you want to believe,” Fenech told Zahra after he said that this is what Theuma had told them.
12:26 Gianluca Caruana Curran, one of Yorgen Fenech’s defence lawyers, was seen entering the interrogation room during the proceedings. Inspector Kurt Zahra asked Fenech what he meant when he previously referred to three people involved in the affair. Fenech said there was the top, followed by the middleman, and then the hitmen. He told Zahra that this was the context in which he tried to calm Melvin Theuma down, assuring him that as the middleman, he did not need to worry excessively. However, Fenech added that this was also the point where he began to feel as though he was being blackmailed. When Zahra asked who was blackmailing him, Fenech repeated that that was simply how he felt while trying to defuse the situation.
12:13 As another borderline unintelligible clip between Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech was played, Inspector Kurt Zahra provided clarification by pointing out that Fenech could be heard telling Theuma, “What do you expect me to do, go to the judge to say I did it,” during a discussion about securing bail for the Degiorgio brothers. When questioned about this statement, Fenech initially told investigators that he struggled to understand the unclear audio, but as another segment of the same recording was played, he claimed that he had made that remark merely as a joke.
12:03 Fenech was played additional audio recordings during his interrogation, featuring what sounded like a heated discussion between two men, though the dialogue was difficult to decipher. Fenech explained that he had spoken with Keith Schembri in an effort to arrange bail for Melvin Theuma. The questioning was briefly paused after Fenech requested a cigarette break. Once the session resumed, Inspector Kurt Zahra informed Fenech that yet another recording was about to be played. Fenech asked if they were going to listen to all of the recordings, to which Zahra replied that they would review everything listed in the disclosure of evidence.
11:47 Fenech told interrogators that he felt severely threatened, explaining that Melvin Theuma’s handwritten letter implicating both Schembri and himself constituted a direct threat. He stated that he knew he was going to face problems and therefore started handing over money out of fear. Inspector Kurt Zahra pressed him, asking if he knew he was going to face problems because he was involved in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, to which Fenech firmly replied that he was never involved and had always tried to extract himself from the situation.
11:38 Interrogators questioned Yorgen Fenech about a phone call he received from Adrian Vella right before the doctor delivered the script, with Fenech explaining that Vella had contacted him on a Nokia 3310 burner phone rather than his regular cellular device. Fenech was subsequently questioned regarding the money Melvin Theuma was allegedly demanding to pass on to Mario Degiorgio, the brother of accused hitmen Alfred and George Degiorgio. Fenech stated that he handed over the cash solely to protect himself and Keith Schembri, claiming that Theuma frequently threatened him and recalling one specific meeting where Theuma placed a gun on a table, adding that Theuma would often carry a firearm tucked into his sock.
11:30 Fenech told investigators that Keith Schembri had panicked and sent Kenneth Camilleri to speak to Melvin Theuma regarding a bail issue. Fenech stated that Schembri was terrified at one point because Theuma had informed him that he was carrying a revolver in his leather jacket when Kenneth Camilleri visited him. Later in the interrogation footage, Fenech revealed that Schembri had promised to send him a script outlining what he should say in order to obtain a presidential pardon, and confirmed that this script was delivered to him by Adrian Vella.
11:18 Interrogators played Yorgen Fenech another audio recording in which he was heard saying, “You took a person from A to Z,” and asked him to clarify who he was referring to. Fenech replied that he meant Keith Schembri. In another segment of the recording, Fenech stated, “Whoever needs to fix the problem doesn’t have a problem as big as he who carried it out.” When investigators asked him to explain what he meant by that statement, Fenech declined to elaborate.
11:12 Interrogators questioned Yorgen Fenech about a discrepancy in the financial figures mentioned during the case, noting that 150,000 euros was cited at certain points while 120,000 euros was cited at others, and asked him to clarify the correct amount. Fenech explained that there had been some confusion regarding the sum at one stage, but confirmed that he handed Theuma 150,000 euros on a single occasion when he picked him up from the airport, adding that he had already begun regretting giving him the money. When Inspector Kurt Zahra directly asked whether the 150,000 euros was paid to have Daphne Caruana Galizia killed, Fenech replied that that was what Theuma claimed, before asking to pause the discussion, stating that they would talk about it at a later stage because he was not feeling comfortable.
11:08 Jurors continue to follow audio-visual footage of Fenech’s interrogation. Interrogators continued pressing Yorgen Fenech regarding the money that allegedly passed between himself and Keith Schembri. Fenech stated that he informed Schembri about the 120,000 euro fee and received the instruction to go ahead, using the phrase “mexxi, mexxi, mexxi”. He explained that he was given an initial 50,000 euros after Melvin Theuma told him he had already paid 30,000 euros to the hitmen out of his own pocket. Inspector Kurt Zahra asked whether Fenech had been obliged to hand over the 50,000 euros, to which Fenech replied that he was not. Zahra then questioned why Theuma did not simply go directly to Schembri, prompting Fenech to explain that at that time, Theuma did not yet know Schembri, despite having previously mentioned dining with both of them at his Żebbuġ ranch.
11:00 Interrogators openly challenged Yorgen Fenech’s narrative, telling him that his story was not making sense when he was asked how Johann Cremona became involved in the case. Fenech replied that, to his knowledge, Cremona had been brought in by Keith Schembri, adding that Cremona knew Schembri had been asking Fenech to find someone to eliminate Daphne Caruana Galizia since 2014.
When Inspector Kurt Zahra asked how this aligned with Melvin Theuma’s version of events – in which Theuma claimed Fenech had summoned him to the Blue Elephant restaurant in Portomaso and ordered the hit because of a story concerning Fenech’s uncle Ray – Fenech flatly denied it, insisting he had no idea Theuma was looking for someone to have the journalist killed. Instead, Fenech maintained that Schembri used to prompt him indirectly during their conversations to find someone for him.
“You’re not making sense!” Zahra retorted during the interrogation, pressing him further. “Why did Melvin Theuma come to you with the 120,000 euro figure? He knew Keith Schembri was telling you to get rid of her.”
10:51 In the footage, police are play a recording between Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech. The recording isn’t clear. In the footage, Fenech and his lawyer are seen craning forward in an attempt to understand what is being said.
10:43 Back in the courtroom.
Jurors are being shown footage of a second interrogation session with Yorgen Fenech.
This time he’s wearing a dark suit with a white shirt. He is accompanied by lawyer Marion Camilleri.
10:23 Following this exchange, the judge ordered a short recess.
10:22 During the interrogation, Yorgen Fenech claimed that Melvin Theuma frequently approached him demanding additional money, which led Fenech to seek assistance from Keith Schembri. According to Fenech, Schembri subsequently delivered between 75,000 and 85,000 euros in a bag directly to Fenech’s office.
When Inspector Kurt Zahra pressed him on why Theuma kept asking him for money, Fenech explained that Theuma was blackmailing him because the hitmen were demanding higher payments. Prompted further by Zahra on why he was being blackmailed, Fenech hesitated visibly in the video recording before responding, “Come on… we’ll talk about it later.”
Zahra then asked Fenech if he was being threatened by anyone, to which Fenech answered, “No, no, not at all.”
10:13 Fenech told police that Keith Schembri kept him fully updated on the murder investigation and provided advance news regarding Melvin Theuma’s arrest, including forewarning that police would also be detaining Theuma’s partner and her daughter. Fenech admitted to investigators that he possessed a copy of Melvin Theuma’s presidential pardon application, which he stated had been handed to him by Schembri.
Fenech claimed that he loved both Theuma and Schembri and genuinely wanted to protect them both, but his stance shifted when he was given a prepared script through Adrian Vella instructing him to request a pardon, at which point he realised Schembri had betrayed him. Fenech also alleged that Schembri had previously provided Theuma with a phantom government job to pacify him when Theuma grew agitated and threatened to speak to authorities.
During the interrogation, Fenech acknowledged that he knew he was being recorded and expressed belief that additional recordings still existed that investigators had not yet recovered. He told police he feared for his life and he had protected Schembri for the same reason because he did not want Schembri to come face-to-face with certain dangerous individuals.
10:04 Fenech told investigators that the plan to spirit him away to Tunisia was supposed to be carried out during a trip to Gozo that he had taken alongside Adrian Vella, claiming that Keith Schembri was the mastermind behind the push for him to escape the country. Fenech stated that he initially had no idea where they were headed and simply thought they were traveling to Gozo. Fenech explained that Vella subsequently returned to mainland Malta to retrieve Fenech’s brother, Franco, along with his passport, at which juncture Fenech said he began to grow suspicious that Schembri had turned against him.
9:55 When Inspector Kurt Zahra asked Fenech during the interrogation whether he ultimately paid the 120,000 euro fee, Fenech avoided a direct answer, replying that he would tell them at the appropriate stage. Later in the questioning, Zahra inquired about the presidential pardon Fenech had requested, asking specifically whether he had mentioned Keith Schembri in that application. Fenech confirmed that he had indeed brought up Schembri. He also revealed that he had spent approximately 30 minutes on the telephone with Schembri right before attempting to leave Malta on his yacht on the day of his arrest. Fenech insisted to investigators that he had no intention of fleeing the country, claiming instead that Schembri and Adrian Vella had devised a plan to take him to Tunisia to buy him time to assemble a legal team.
9:50 As the jurors continued watching the 2019 police interrogation footage, Yorgen Fenech recounted that Melvin Theuma told him he had successfully found someone to carry out the assassination during a taxi ride to the airport. Fenech told investigators that he had no personal interest in knowing the identity of the killers, but immediately went and spoke to Keith Schembri about the development. According to Fenech, Theuma later informed him that the hitmen were demanding 120,000 euros for the job, to which Fenech responded that he would get back to him.
9:40 During the interrogation, police pressed Yorgen Fenech further about his alleged meeting with Joseph Muscat. Fenech insisted that three individuals were one hundred percent aware that Keith Schembri wanted Daphne Caruana Galizia killed, naming the Prime Minister himself alongside Johann Cremona and Adrian Vella. He challenged investigators by asking why they thought the Prime Minister had summoned him, claiming Muscat called him in because he knew Fenech’s phone was being tapped and wanted to ascertain whether Fenech trusted Melvin Theuma.
Fenech went on to claim that Schembri, frustrated by Caruana Galizia’s investigative reports, had approached him back in 2015 stating that he had already found someone to kill the journalist and had paid that person 30,000 euros for the job. Although that initial plan fell through, Fenech alleged that Schembri continued urging him to find someone else. Fenech recounted that they discussed the matter over a meal at his ranch in Żebbuġ in the presence of Theuma, around the time Caruana Galizia published an article concerning Schembri’s illness. Fenech added that as they were driving home after that dinner, Theuma remarked to him that it would not take long to get rid of her.
9:30 During his police interrogation, Yorgen Fenech claimed that the entire plot began with Keith Schembri, telling investigators that it was disgraceful he was being questioned while Schembri was not, and accusing the police of corruption for allegedly shielding him. Fenech stated that Schembri had asked him to find a way to have Daphne Caruana Galizia killed, adding that another individual was also aware of Schembri’s involvement. Furthermore, Fenech alleged that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had summoned him to his office at Castille alongside Schembri. According to Fenech, Muscat asked him during the meeting if he knew Melvin Theuma and whether Schembri was mentioned in Theuma’s recordings, and warned him that a series of raids targeting Theuma was inevitable. Fenech stated that this meeting took place in January, and noted that he had met Muscat on only one other occasion, which was during his birthday celebrations at a party held at Girgenti in February 2019.
9:24 Police Inspector Kurt Zahra returns to the witness stand as the trial resumed. Before his testimony continued, the jurors were informed that they would be shown footage of Yorgen Fenech’s four-hour police interrogation from his November 2019 arrest.
In the video, Fenech is seen wearing a black polo-neck sweater and black trousers, seated with his hands crossed. He is accompanied throughout the questioning by his defence lawyer, Marion Camilleri.
9:18 Before proceedings began, Judge Edwina Grima was informed that prosecutor Anthony Vella would be leading the state’s case for the day, as prosecutor Godwin Cini, who had led the questioning for the majority of the trial, was unwell.
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