A private WhatsApp group recovered from Yorgen Fenech’s mobile phone and titled ‘No Valletta, No Party’ has emerged as the latest piece of electronic evidence in the businessman’s trial by jury, exposing the close personal relationships he maintained with some of Malta’s most senior public officials of the Labour administration.
Police Financial Crimes Inspector Brian Paul Camilleri told jurors on Wednesday that the group included Fenech, former Office of the Prime Minister chief of staff Keith Schembri, former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta, former Malta Financial Services Authority chief executive Joseph Cuschieri and Schembri’s former personal secretary Kenneth Azzopardi.
The only member of the group who still survived the reputational damage is Joseph Cuschieri, who has been made Project Green CEO by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Minister Miriam Dalli despite various scandals.
The inspector testified that the first message extracted from the group dated back to 16 March 2019 and read: “We are back as a team.” He said the existence of the chat was considered sufficiently significant for it to be referred to senior investigators Ian Abdilla, Alexandra Mamo and Frank Tabone for further investigation.
The evidence formed part of testimony from a police task force that examined thousands of emails, messages, photographs and videos recovered from electronic devices seized during the investigation into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Jurors were also shown photographs and videos exchanged within the group, including the image of Cuschieri and Fenech joking together and footage of Cuschieri boarding Fenech’s yacht at Portomaso. The police witness described the exchanges as indicating that the participants were on very friendly terms.
The inspector also referred to another WhatsApp conversation recovered from Fenech’s phone in which the participants discussed former Nationalist Party MEP candidate Frank Psaila, concerns over what was described as a ‘tkaxkira kbira’ or massive electoral defeat, and a mysterious ‘€100,ooo donation’.
Camilleri told the court that he also referred that conversation to his superiors for investigation.
The latest revelations come a day after jurors were shown private Signal exchanges between Fenech and former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta, including messages in which Valletta referred to the businessman as his ‘best friend’ and discussed meetings, travel arrangements and the use of a private jet.
Jurors were also shown a video recovered from Fenech’s phone in which Valletta is seen inside a white Rolls Royce in a Portomaso garage. As Valletta demonstrated the luxury vehicle’s automatic door, he told Fenech: ‘We were friends and friends we’ll remain. I’ll see you soon.’
Valletta, who at the time was married to Minister Justyne Caruana, occupied one of the most sensitive positions within the Police Corps when he cultivated his friendship with Fenech. As deputy police commissioner, he supervised the Criminal Investigation Department at a time when the force was investigating the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The trial continues.
