Fifth day of Yorgen Fenech trial: Arnaud testifies on secret recordings and escape plans
On the fifth day of proceedings against Yorgen Fenech, chief investigator Keith Arnaud continued to testify, with much of the time devoted to secretly recorded conversations, alleged escape plans and accusations involving former senior government officials.
Fifth day of Yorgen Fenech trial: Arnaud testifies on secret recordings and escape plans
On the fifth day of proceedings against Yorgen Fenech, chief investigator Keith Arnaud continued to testify before the court, with the majority of the time devoted to secretly recorded conversations, alleged escape plans and accusations involving former senior government officials. This was reported by Lovin Malta.
Arnaud read out a series of messages retrieved from Fenech's phone dating back to November 2019, when investigators feared he was preparing to flee Malta before he was arrested. The court heard discussions about a sea voyage to Sicily before continuing to Paris, as well as accommodation rentals outside Malta, money arrangements and ensuring that "the cost would be clear" before departure.
The jury also heard messages between Fenech and people recorded in his phone as "Uncle Ray", "Papa" (registered as his brother) and "Logan", the latter identified by Arnaud as the yacht captain.
According to the messages, they expressed concern about photographs waiting at Portomaso Marina and the possibility of leaving Malta by sea rather than by air.
Arnaud then moved to statements given by Fenech to police, in which he told the jury that the accused had alleged that former Prime Minister's office chief Keith Schembri had instructed him to "find someone" after he mentioned Daphne Caruana Galizia's reporting. According to Arnaud, Fenech also alleged that Schembri had subsequently given him permission to continue.
The prosecution presented recordings made covertly by Melvin Theuma, which Arnaud said contradicted key parts of Fenech's account of events. Among the recordings presented to the court were conversations in which Fenech allegedly instructed Theuma to "destroy everything" and "throw away the SIM card", while also discussing ongoing payments to the Degiorgio brothers and expressing concern about bringing more people into the investigation.
The court also heard that in these recordings Fenech allegedly said: "I let them flee." Arnaud told the jury that these conversations did not support Fenech's allegation that the money he paid Theuma was meant to cover up the murder.
Another significant portion of the time focused on alleged conversations between Fenech and Keith Schembri. Arnaud testified that one of the recordings included Fenech saying that Schembri had told him: "You should have told me earlier," after he disclosed details of police questioning with Vince Muscat.
Arnaud also told the court that Fenech had alleged that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had privately informed him that Melvin Theuma would be arrested.
However, investigators later questioned Muscat, who denied all of Fenech's allegations, including the claim that he had held private meetings with him or passed on information about the investigation.
Proceedings halted briefly after the defence objected to the fact that Arnaud had been referring to a location date extracted from Fenech's mobile phone, arguing that this material was not part of the case file. Judge Edwina Grima said she would give a decision on the objection after the recess.
The trial is expected to continue after the midday break with Keith Arnaud remaining on the witness stand.
Source: Lovin Malta