Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1193631
suspicious. That changed when it was al- leged that Schembri was ma- nipulating and pressuring Fenech whilst he had been in custody, however. Schembri was immedi- ately arrested. Before his arrest, Schembri had been pre- sent only for briefings relating to the case and not to those relating to the Malta Security Services, Ar- naud said. Melvin Theuma's mobile phone was tapped in the first week of May 2018, and Yorgen Fenech's was tapped after that in 2018, the inspector went on to say. He denied passing on any in- formation to Keith Schembri in the early stages of the inves- tigation. "I did not. I went to Castille for the first time in my life for the first briefing. Keith Schembri was there but I didn't speak to him... these meetings were not organised by myself." At the time Assistant Com- missioner Silvio Valletta would organise the meetings he said. Arnaud had started exchang- ing information with Schembri after May 2018, when Valletta was ordered off the investiga- tion due to a potential conflict of interest – he is married to cabinet minister Justyne Caru- ana. The Prime Minister's former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was also meant to testify on Tuesday, but he did not ini- tially turn up. After an arrest warrant was issued by the mag- istrate, court officials escorted Schembri to Mr Justice Law- rence Mintoff's courtroom. He did not give testimony however, as the sitting was ad- journed till Wednesday, since Victoria Buttigieg, one of the lawyers representing the At- torney General's office in the case, was due to be appointed State Advocate later that af- ternoon, and would have been late for her swearing-in had the case continued. Schembri has insisted that he was not notified about his court summons and only got to know that he was meant to give testi- mony through following media reports. Tuesday's sitting also saw alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech take the stand. He was asked about Arnaud's friendship with Schembri. He had never seen them together, he said, but Schembri would receive mes- sages from Arnaud in Fenech's presence-although he could not say whether they were about the investigation or not. "He'd say 'look, I've received a message from Arnaud'," Fene- ch said. Fenech said Keith Schembri had told him that the police were following Melvin Theuma closely. He also said that they were investigating his finances, and planned to raid his house on the pretext of financial is- sues, but with the true inten- tion of finding his recordings. "I was never present for the meetings between Schembri and Arnaud, so if Schembri was lying, I don't know now,"" Fenech said. The case continues on Wednesday with Keith Schem- bri and Melvin Theuma due to testify. The case is being heard by Mr. Justice Lawrence Mintoff. Lawyers Victoria Buttigieg and Maurizio Cordina are appear- ing for the office of the Attor- ney General. Fenech is rep- resented by lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri. maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2019 3 NEWS Issued by Bank of Valle a p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valle a VLT 1130. Bank of Valle a p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta). NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS Bank of Valle a will be upgrading its IT systems. In view of this, the Bank will be offering limited services as from Friday 27 December 2019. The Bank will be closed for business on Monday 30, Tuesday 31 December 2019 and Wednesday 1 January 2020 (Public Holiday). It will resume opera ons and banking services as from 8.30 am on Thursday 2 January 2020. During this period, customers will be able to con nue using their BOV Cards and BOV Pay in the normal manner, in all retail stores, restaurants and all other outlets locally, abroad, and online. Cash withdrawals and balance enquiries will also remain available from all BOV ATMs. Customers may also withdraw cash from non-BOV ATMs locally and abroad*. The Customer Service Centre will be available for repor ng lost or stolen cards and card fraud. All other services including payments, BOV Internet Banking and BOV Mobile Banking will not be available throughout this period as from the following cut-off mes. Date Cut-off Time Services interrupted: Back in service Friday 27 December 12:00 pm ATM Services - Deposits (cash & cheques), Viewing of Recent Transac ons, Transfer between Accounts, Cheque Book and Deposit Book Orders through ATMs Nightsafe Deposit Facility Services interrupted will resume as at Thursday 2 January 2020 at 8:30 am BOV Cards, BOV Pay and Cash Withdrawals from ATMs will operate normally throughout the whole upgrade period 2:00 pm Payment services through all channels (including payments through Branches and Internet Banking) Saturday 28 December 11:00 am Branches (will close at 11:00 am instead of 12.30 pm) 5:00 pm Internet and Mobile Banking systems Monday 30 December BOV closed for business Tuesday 31 December BOV closed for business Wednesday 1 January Public Holiday Thursday 2 January BOV open for business at 8.30 am Bank of Valle a encourages its customers to carry out the banking transac ons they require for this period by Friday 27 December 2019 as per cut-off mes above, including transfers to their card linked accounts to ensure that they have access to enough funds throughout the upgrade period. The Bank apologises for this temporary interrup on of its services and for any inconvenience caused to customers. More informa on is available on www.bov.com/content/upgrade, by calling 2124 7822 or by sending an email to systemupgrade@bov.com. *Normal Charges apply Schembri still under investigation but not arrest' Mellieha Yorgen Fenech