What Happened This Morning On Day 5 Of Yorgen Fenech Trial

Day five of Yorgen Fenech’s trial saw lead investigator Keith Arnaud continue his testimony, with much of the morning focusing on secretly recorded conversations, alleged escape plans and claims involving former senior government officials.

Arnaud read out a series of messages recovered from Fenech’s phone dating to November 2019, when investigators believed he was preparing to flee Malta before his arrest. The court heard discussions about travelling by boat to Sicily before continuing to Paris, renting accommodation abroad, arranging cash and ensuring “the coast is clear” before departing.

The jury also heard of messages between Fenech and people saved in his phone as “Uncle Ray”, “Papa” (as his brother was listed) and “Logan”, the latter identified by Arnaud as the captain of the yacht.

According to the messages, concerns were raised about photographers waiting at Portomaso Marina and the possibility of leaving Malta by sea instead of by air.

Arnaud then turned to Fenech’s police statements, telling jurors the accused claimed former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri had instructed him to “find someone” after complaining about Daphne Caruana Galizia’s reporting. According to Arnaud, Fenech also claimed Schembri later gave him the go-ahead to proceed.

The prosecution presented recordings secretly made by Melvin Theuma, which Arnaud said contradicted key parts of Fenech’s version of events. Among the recordings played in court were conversations in which Fenech allegedly instructed Theuma to “destroy everything” and “throw away the SIM card”, while also discussing continued payments to the Degiorgio brothers and expressing concern about dragging more people into the investigation.

The court also heard that these recordings in which Fenech allegedly said, “I messed it up,” with Arnaud telling jurors these conversations did not support Fenech’s claim that money paid to Theuma was intended to stop the murder from taking place.

Another key part of the morning centred on alleged conversations between Fenech and Keith Schembri. Arnaud testified that one recording included Fenech claiming Schembri had told him, “You should have told me earlier,” after learning details of Vince Muscat’s police questioning.

Arnaud also told the court that Fenech alleged former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had privately warned him that Melvin Theuma was going to be arrested.

However, investigators later questioned Muscat, who denied all of Fenech’s allegations, including claims that he had held private meetings with him or passed on information about the investigation.

Proceedings briefly paused after the defence objected to Arnaud referring to location data extracted from Fenech’s mobile phone, arguing the material was not part of the acts of the case. Judge Edwina Grima said she would rule on the objection after the break.

The trial is set to continue this afternoon with Keith Arnaud remaining on the witness stand.

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