Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1202670
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 JANUARY 2020 NEWS Police are investigating ex-deputy police chief Silvio Valletta DAVID HUDSON THE police are investigating for- mer deputy police chief Silvio Val- letta following media reports of his relationship with Yorgen Fenech, charged with masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia. "When it became aware of the al- legations reported in the media, the police corps immediately launched an investigation. The investigation into Silvio Valletta on each allega- tion is still ongoing," a police state- ment on Tuesday read. The police said that Valletta was "spoken to" at the police head- quarters in Floriana on Monday evening. Valletta travelled with Fenech to Kiev in May 2018 to watch the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid and then again in September 2018 to watch Liverpool take on Chelsea in Stamford Bridge in London. The former deputy police chief confirmed that he had travelled with the businessman charged with masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, but alleged that he was unaware that Fenech was a murder suspect at the time. The revelations forced Vallet- ta's wife, former cabinet minister Justyne Caruana, to resign from her post as Gozo minister. In May 2018, Valletta was still handling the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case and Fenech was considered a possible suspect. According to court testimony of Inspector Keith Arnaud, chief in- vestigator in the murder case, mid- dleman Melvin Theuma's phone had started being tapped in the first week of May. Fenech had also been identified as the owner of Dubai company 17 Black by the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit in a re- port submitted to the police force around this time. Valletta was still a board mem- ber of the FIAU and deputy police chief. He took a step back from the Caruana Galizia case in June 2018 when a court ruled that he should not oversee proceedings given a potential conflict of interest as a result of his marriage to a govern- ment minister. The judgement was confirmed on appeal in October 2018. A video on Fenech's mobile phone also showed Valletta play- ing around behind the wheel of the businessman's Rolls Royce. In a comment to Times of Malta, Valletta said, "I worked so hard for this case, do you think I would will- ingly jeopardise all that work?" Valletta said that he knew there was an issue between Theuma and Fenech but not that Fenech was a murder suspect. He is reported say- ing that, with hindsight, he regrets having gone abroad with Fenech. Valletta's wife, former Cabinet minister Justyne Caruana was forced to resign her post as Gozo minister as a result of the revela- tions. April 2016 Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) chief, Manfred Galdes, hands incriminating evidence on OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri directly to Police Commissioner Michael Cassar. 27 April 2016 Michael Cassar resigns from his post, citing health reasons. He is replaced by Lawrence Cutajar. 16 October 2017 Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia dies in a car bomb that detonated outside her home in Bidnija. 4 December 2017 Three men are arrested in connection with her murder: brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat. May 2018 According to court testimony, middleman Melvin Theuma's phone is tapped in the first week of May and alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech's phone is tapped sometime later. The phone-tapping would have been conducted by the Malta Security Service and would have had to receive authorisation from then prime minister Joseph Muscat. At this time, deputy police chief Silvio Valletta went to Kiev with Fenech to watch Liverpool FC take on Real Madrid for the Champions League Final. The tickets to the match were paid for by Fenech. June 2018 Judge Silvio Meli orders that deputy police chief Silvio Valletta desists from taking part in the investigation and orders his involvement in the investigation to be re-examined by his replacement. This was the result of a court case filed by the Caruana Galizia family in 2017, accusing Valletta of a conflict of interest because of his marriage to a cabinet minister and his role as a board member of the FIAU. Attorney General Peter Grech appealed the judgement. Valletta pulls out of the investigation out of his own volition without waiting for the appeal to conclude. 29 July 2018 Valletta is removed from the FIAU, 10 months after Occupy Justice activists called for his withdrawal due to conflict of interest, being married to a Cabinet minister. 29 September 2018 Valletta goes to the United Kingdom with Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is already a suspect in the murder investigation and his phone is already tapped at this point. Valletta goes to Stamford Bridge in London to watch another football match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Video on Fenech's phone also shows Valletta inside the businessman's Rolls Royce around this time. 7 December 2018 Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana leaves parliament ahead of a debate on the Nationalist Party motion calling for an independent inquiry into the murder. The motion also includes a mention of Valletta's conflict of interest, which prompts Caruana to renounce participation in the debate. "I want to assure my children, who for the past year have had to live with a police escort because of undue attention given to my family, that their father performed his job well, leading to results like never before. I want to assure my children that their father and I did nothing to be ashamed of and that our actions were always righteous and in the best interest of the country," an emotional Caruana tells parliament. 20 November 2019 Yorgen Fenech is arrested after he is intercepted at sea aboard his yacht, which had left the Portomaso Marina in St Julian's at 5.30am. December 2019 Middleman Melvin Theuma, after being granted a presidential pardon in November, testifies before a court, saying that he was aware that his phone was tapped back in May 2018 because Yorgen Fenech had told him to use Whatsapp, where phone calls are encrypted. He also says that in April 2018, Fenech had informed him that a Cabinet meeting was taking place and was discussing a presidential pardon for one of the three accused of Caruana Galizia's murder, Vince Muscat. He claims that Keith Schembri was Fenech's informant throughout this time. January 2020 Justyne Caruana is reappointed Gozo Minister after Robert Abela replaces Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister. Caruana resigns from her post after information related to her husband's friendship with Fenech is revealed. A timeline of events FORMER Gozo minister Justyne Caruana said she will contest the next election and will continue with her parliamentary work. In a Facebook post, the minister said, "I am 45 years old and I still have a lot more to offer to the people and the country. I will continue my work in parliament so that I will contest the next election and improve upon the majority in Gozo." Caruana was forced to resign on Monday after me- dia reports said that her husband, Silvio Valletta, went abroad with murder suspect Yorgen Fenech to watch a football game between Liverpool and Chelsea in Lon- don. She resigned just a few days after being re-instated as Gozo Minister when Robert Abela was elected Prime Minister. Caruana thanked people for their messages of sup- port and their solidarity "in this difficult time." "I am proud of the work that I've done, work that, as the Prime Minister said, benefitted many people. I achieved results for Gozo that are unprecedented and that will continue to be enjoyed by many for many years," she said on Facebook. Justyne Caruana vows to contest next election Former deputy police chief Silvio Valletta (right) during a press conference on the Caruana Galizia murder case Justyne Caruana