Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1264355
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JUNE 2020 NEWS THE TESTIMONY 'Yorgen was a loved person' Keith Schembri knew Yorgen Fenech since they were children but they drift- ed apart and became very close again around 2010. "I felt comfortable having him at home… Knowing him since childhood, there was chemistry. He was easy to go along with, easy to talk to," Schembri re- plied in court when asked how close he was with Fenech. This was how Schembri introduced his relationship with Tumas Group mag- nate Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of masterminding the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Schembri was testifying in the compila- tion of evidence against Fenech. The former chief of staff to Joseph Muscat told the court that his companies had done some business with the Tumas Group in the past but this was "nothing big". Schembri also described how they used to visit each other's homes and engage socially. "I would sometimes visit the [Żebbuġ] ranch, other times go on his boat. Yor- gen was a loved person, I would always see different people with him, from every social strata, business, politicians, and police," Schembri testified. At the ranch: 'they come to eat, drink and ask for money' 'Ranch' was how Fenech referred to his sprawling residence in the outskirts of Żebbuġ. Asked whether he remembered particu- lar politicians or persons in attendance at the ranch, Schembri replied: "Business people, the best in the country etc… On one occasion, Silvio Valletta (the former deputy police commissioner) was there." But he also emphasised that Fenech was a highly-regarded businessperson before his involvement in the murder came to the fore. "Before all this, Yorgen Fenech was a very highly regarded person in society. After what happened, everyone who met with him was demonised. We'd go there to eat and drink," Schembri said. He also described what Fenech told him about "someone in politics", who played the virgin but went to him to eat, drink and ask for money. Schembri then claimed that Fenech once told him that Opposition leader Adrian Delia had gone to him to ask for €50,000 to stop David Casa's re-election. "He [Delia] would also send the secre- tary general of the party to collect 20k every week. This would happen regularly. It is extortion of money," Schembri said, referring to Pierre Portelli, the former PN head of media. Distancing himself from the 'klikka' The former chief of staff to Joseph Mus- cat told the court that in the last year be- fore his arrest, Fenech would go abroad a lot and contact became less frequent. He added that in 2019, Fenech spent nine months abroad but wouldn't tell Schem- bri the reason why. "Sometimes, I'd call him and he wouldn't answer… He distanced him- self from us (the klikka). He might have had some health problems. Nobody had told me what these problems could be," Schembri told the court. 17 Black But in his testimony, Schembri admit- ted for the first time that he had start- ed crafting a business relationship with Fenech's Dubai company 17 Black. Justifying the inclusion of 17 Black as a target client in the bank account opening forms for his Panama company, Schem- bri told the court that he intended doing business with Fenech after he exited pol- itics. "There are many Maltese businessmen doing business with Yorgen Fenech. He was prestigious. I didn't have any links to other companies aside 17 Black or have other business with Yorgen Fenech," Schembri said. The documents on which 17 Black was indicated as a target client had been drawn up in December 2015 by Schem- bri's accountants, Nexia BT. By then, Schembri had only been a top govern- ment official for two-and-a-half years and would stay on for another four years. THE CONTEXT Labour's reach-out, an energy working group and 2010 Keith Schembri owns the Kasco Group, which operates a diversified portfolio that ranges from the importation of pa- per to foods, and industrial engineering equipment. Schembri had no known links to poli- tics before Joseph Muscat was elected leader of the Labour Party in June 2008. He had helped Muscat in his European Parliament election campaign in 2004 but was never at the forefront. Even after Muscat became Labour lead- er, Schembri was never in the limelight despite having been appointed to chair a party working group on energy. Schembri went on to become a key player in Muscat's strategy team and when Labour won the 2013 election, he was appointed chief of staff in the Office of the Prime Minister. The two had been long-time friends, with people close to Muscat describing Schembri as "the brother Joseph never had". But Schembri's reference to 2010 is not casual. It coincides with the period when the Labour Party was making overtures to the business community. Muscat had been leader of the party for two years. By then he had consolidated his position within the party and effect- ed the necessary administrative chang- es. The party's organisation was trans- formed into a well-honed electoral and communication machine. But Muscat wanted to reach out to dif- ferent sectors of society, particularly the business community, which had been wary of the PL. Charming the business community Schembri played a key role, with others, in the PL's outreach as he drew on his contacts and charm to get business play- ers to cosy up with the relatively young Muscat. In February of 2010, the PL set up a business forum led by Marlene Mizzi with the specific aim of reaching out to Keith Schembri: What he said, the context and his denials Keith Schembri testified in court about his 'close friendship' with Yorgen Fenech and how he visited him at the ranch in Żebbuġ, where many other prominent people were entertained. This is what Schembri said under oath and some context to his words. KURT SANSONE reports