Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/970554
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL 2018 News 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 According to the Daphne Project, a consortium of 18 media organisations that is continuing the stories started by Caruana Galizia, the wit- ness said Cardona and Degior- gio spoke for some time and, at one point, he claimed he spotted them walking outside together. This was the only time he had seen the two together, the eyewitness said. The bar own- er declined to comment with The Times on the movements of any of his clients. These allegations were al- ready known to the Caruana Galizia family, who reported them to inquiring magistrate Anthony Vella. But Radio France, a member of the Daphne Project, cited a source close to the inquiry say- ing the political connection to the murder was not believable. "While these are troubling [accounts]… a source close to the inquiry explained they could not believe in the po- litical theory [of who commis- sioned the murder]. The prin- cipal line of investigation will be that of a crime ordered by a criminal organisation which the journalist was investigat- ing." Cardona was also reported to have frequented the bar by another witness who spoke separately to the journalists, describing him as a regular visitor to the bar on weekends. Here is the exchange be- tween a Radio France journal- ist and a patron at Ferdinand's Bar in Siggiewi, who said one of the suspects visited the bar the night before his arrest on 4 December, 2017 – but said Cardona was not present that night, he said. Journalist: Is there a politi- cian here who once went to a gentleman's club? Witness: Cardona. He drinks with us here. Journalist: He comes here? Is he a regular? Witness: Yes. He comes on Saturdays and every Sunday. Chris Cardona. And there is the journalist who was killed in Malta, Caruana Galizia. Three persons have been ar- rested... Journalist: And these men, they would come here as well? Witness: Yes, yes. Journalist: In this very bar? Witness: In the same bar. Journalist: And they knew the politician, Cardona? Witness: Yes. Journalist: Did you see them together? Witness: Yes, yes. Journalist: Frequently? Witness: Together having a drink. Journalist: Was it before or after the murder? Witness: Before, yes. Contacted by the Daphne Project, Cardona said he "does not recall" having any discus- sions with any of the three in- dividuals accused of carrying out the car bombing. "Like most seasoned crimi- nal lawyers in Malta, I know who some of the suspects in the case are. The particular pub you mention welcomes patrons from all walks of life, including other politicians. I do not, however, recall hav- ing any discussions with any of these individuals, and have definitely never had any meet- ings with them. Anything else is baseless rumour and specu- lation," Cardona said. Questioned earlier this month about the allegation, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat simply replied: "Publish that information". In his first full interview since his wife's death, Peter Caruana Galizia claimed political in- terests were blocking the po- lice investigation and said he feared the mastermind might never be brought to justice. "It is clear to us that the three men arraigned so far are simply contractors com- missioned by a third party," he said. "My sons and I are not convinced that our gov- ernment really wants to es- tablish who sent them, for fear such persons are in fact very close to our government. For this reason we may never know the truth." Witness: Cardona and Degiorgio walked out of bar together Economy minister Chris Cardona MATTHEW VELLA THE minister of the economy Chris Cardona has described in- ternational media reports of a witness in Siggiewi placing him at a bar chatting with a suspect charged with the murder of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia, as "clearly speculative, based on hearsay which have no foundation of truth." Cardona, who had requested a €47,000 garnishee on Caruana Galizia's assets after the journal- ist alleged he had been in a Ger- man brothel, said the reports of the Daphne Project, a consortium of 18 media organisations, were "highly defamatory". "I welcome the fact that the Magistrate was informed on this speculative report which seems to be pushed by what media are iden- tifying as 'a high-ranking member of the Nationalist Opposition'," Cardona said. According to the media reports, the MP in question introduced a witness who placed Cardona at Ferdinand's Bar in Siggiewi some time in November, speaking to murder suspect Alfred Degiorgio 'il-Fulu'. In his answers to the Daphne Project, Cardona said that "like most seasoned criminal lawyers in Malta, I know who some of the suspects in the case are. The par- ticular pub you mention welcomes patrons from all walks of life, in- cluding other politicians. I do not, however, recall having any discus- sions with any of these individu- als, and have definitely never had any meetings with them. Any- thing else is baseless rumour and speculation." In his post on Facebook, Car- dona added: "It would be interest- ing had the high-ranking member of the Nationalist Opposition told the reporters who and how many high-ranking members of the Op- position frequent the mentioned bar. It would have also been ap- propriate for the same source to tell them how a high-ranking member of the Nationalist Op- position was defence lawyer of one the brothers who stand accused with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder," Cardona said. Cardona himself has been a de- fence lawyer to murder suspect Vincent Muscat 'il-Kohhu', who was charged with participation in the 2010 heist on the HSBC corpo- rate headquarters in Qormi. Cardona also posted his answers to the Daphne Project on Face- book, stating that he had "no idea who would have wanted to kill her, and if I did, I would have definitely and without hesitation informed the authorities." Cardona was summoned by the first inquiring magistrate Con- suelo Herrera, together with oth- ers involved in politics who had been recently mentioned by Caru- ana Galizia in her blog. "To date I still do not know what she would have asked me and the other peo- ple who were summoned because Caruana Galizia's family imme- diately objected to that particular magistrate being in charge of the inquiry due to the fact that she had also, for a while, been a subject of Caruana Galizia's blog. Following that, I was never called in by the newly-appointed inquiring mag- istrate or any authorities on the matter." Cardona was also asked about allegations that he had been wit- nessed inside the Acapulco broth- el in the German town of Velbert, which Caruana Galizia had re- ported about claiming a source had seen the minister there. Car- dona filed a libel suit against her as well as requesting a garnishee order on her assets. "I… have evi- dence, including documentary, at- testing to this." Cardona insists 'reports have no foundation of truth'