Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1292560
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS measure against Schembri and his interests" requested by the Attorney General and the Com- missioner of Police, the lawyers argued that the authorities had also seized assets belonging to people who had nothing to do with the investigation, includ- ing young children. "It must be said that [the de- fence] are contending that it was yet to be seen whether this action is in keeping with the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry concluded by magis- trate Natasha Galea Sciberras," added the lawyers, contending that the element of propor- tionality between the measures imposed by the AG and the Po- lice and t he conclusions of the inquiring magistrate and the "great and unnecessary suffer- ing" caused to the employees who were simply victims in this case. ing a personal campaign in Eu- rope to take the top post of pres- ident of the European Council. Theuma has previously claimed in court that the Degiorgios had reached out to the former econ- omy minister Chris Cardona with a bail request as well. Tes- tifying during the compilation of evidence against murder sus- pect Yorgen Fenech in February 2020, Theuma: "If anyone could help them, Cardona knew all of the judges. Mario had told me that Cardona had ignored them over the bail though. They had sent him a message to him over the bail but he ignored them." Phone conversations The claims were based on Theuma's mobile phone record- ings of conversations he had had with Fenech, as well as with his associate Johann Cremona. The trove of clandestine recordings however also feature long con- versations in which Theuma and Cremona flesh out a plan by the middleman to request a pardon, apparently in a bid to avoid a money laundering charge that was worrying Theuma. The recordings contain infor- mation that show Theuma was leaked information in 2019 that could have only come from top police brass or people high up in Castille with inside knowledge of the Caruana Galizia investi- gation. Theuma for example was aware that Vincent Muscat had requested a pardon for informa- tion on the journalist's assassi- nation in April 2018, by offering up his name as a middleman in the murder. In September 2019, Johann Cremona had learnt that Muscat would be made to re- cant the information he gave to the police – an event that never came to pass, and which appears to have informed the relinquish- ing of his brief by long-time law- yer Arthur Azzopardi. The conversations suggest that Muscat's mentioning of Theuma back in 2018 led to the money laundering investigation that the middleman was anxious about. Cremona also is heard in the conversations praising Schembri for protecting Theuma. "For- get Yorgen… it's not Keith who harmed you. It's that bastard Arthur… in reality he [Keith] protected you, he didn't sleep on it, because as I can make the sto- ry out… Keith is not confused, Keith is focused." The two men appeared confi- dent that pressure from Interpol on the FIAU file on Theuma, would be diverted by Commis- sioner of Police Lawrence Cuta- jar. Theuma was so determined not to be arrested on the feared money laundering charge, that he is told by Cremona to im- part on Yorgen Fenech the im- portance of speaking to Keith Schembri about the matter. "I will be clear," Cremona says. "I'll say, 'Listen Kenneth, don't call me on Melvin. He is determined that he will not be picked up by the police. If they raid him, he will reveal everything he knows."