Day 15 Of Yorgen Fenech’s Trial Is Underway, Cash Couriers Describe Payments To Families Of Imprisoned Hitmen

The 15th day of Yorgen Fenech’s trial by jury is underway, with the prosecution this morning calling witnesses who described their role in passing cash to the families of the three men accused of carrying out Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Lawrence Pace, known as il-Lolly, was called in to testify. He told jurors he knew brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, Vince Muscat and self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma through the Marsa area.

Pace said that after the arrests, Theuma told him he wanted to send €100 to each of the three men to help support their families. Every four weeks, Pace said he would hand the cash to Joseph Brincat, who would then pass it on.

He also recounted accompanying Vince Muscat on two occasions to Siġġiewi, where Muscat instructed him to hand an envelope containing cash to a person waiting in a car. Pace said he was given a receipt in return but never asked what the money was for.

Taking the witness stand next, Joseph Brincat, owner of the Marsa White Stars bar, confirmed he acted as an intermediary for the payments at the request of Lawrence Pace.

Brincat told the court there were five payments in total. The first amounted to €300, which he assumed was to be split between George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat, while later payments were reduced to €200. He said he never asked why the money was being passed on and was simply doing Pace “a favour”.

Proceedings are continuing before Madam Justice Edwina Grima.

Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack near her home in Bidnija on 16th October 2017. George and Alfred Degiorgio, together with Vince Muscat, were accused of carrying out the assassination. Muscat later pleaded guilty and testified against others, while the Degiorgio brothers also admitted their role. Businessman Yorgen Fenech is currently standing trial, accused of commissioning the murder. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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Clara Sciberras

Clara is a lawyer, actor, singer and journalist passionate about storytelling. She joined TV programme Xarabank in 2019 as a producer, beginning her journey in local media.