Lead police investigator outlines Yorgen Fenech’s escape attempt

On Monday morning, Assistant Commissioner and Head of the Major Crimes unit Keith Arnaud, who was the lead investigator on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder case, outlined how Yorgen Fenech, accused of complicity in the murder, planned his escape on the day he was arrested on his yacht in Portomaso on 20 November, 2019.

Arnaud’s examination in court, which is being managed by State Prosecutor Godwin Cini, entered its third day on Monday morning.

To date, Arnaud has gone into extensive detail about how middleman Melvin Theuma and mobile phone data from the devices which were used to coordinate the detonation of the bomb, which the executors had placed under Daphne’s car seat, were two distinct evidence trails which were essential for the police to eventually arrive at Fenech’s doorstep.

Fenech has pleaded not guilty to any of the accusations in his regard and had previously insisted with police investigators that he was forced to follow through with the assassination plot by Theuma and Keith Schembri, the chief of staff to disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat.

This morning, Arnaud was asked to walk the jury through the chats which Europol had extracted from Fenech’s phone the day after he was arrested aboard his yacht.

The first set of chats shown to jurors involved Fenech and his uncle, Ray Fenech, after a Times of Malta report published on 19 November 2019 referred to new facts expected to emerge in the Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

Ray Fenech sent his nephew the article, telling him he had been informed that the Prime Minister’s statement on the murder investigation had not been made “for nothing”.

Arnaud told jurors that Fenech began making preparations to leave Malta shortly after this exchange.

On 19 November, Fenech sent an “urgent request” to a third party about possible flight arrangements. The court heard that he discussed available options while expressing frustration at the lack of readily available options on such short notice.

In another snippet of Yorgen Fenech’s exchange with his uncle, the accused discussed whether the airport was safe, with Ray telling him to ask “K” whether he could leave through the VIP route. Arnaud told jurors investigators later confirmed this was a reference to Keith Schembri.

Fenech replied that he did not trust the airport and thought it would be better to leave by boat. A mere few hours before the arrest, the elder Fenech told his nephew that a Times of Malta journalist named “Ivan” had tipped him off about the raid. When asked by Madam Justice Edwina Grima to name the journalist, but Arnaud did not confirm his full name.

When Judge Edwina Grima explicitly asked Arnaud to clarify whether the police had ever managed to identify who tipped off Fenech, Arnaud only said that they “had investigated” and that they had only managed to get as far as “possibly” confirming it was a journalist without delving into any further detail.

The chats also showed discussions about cash, card tracing, possible safe places, and an overland route through Italy towards France. Fenech repeatedly asked his uncle to look after his children if anything happened to him.

Jurors were also shown messages between Fenech and his brother Franco Fenech, who recently passed away. The accused’s brother urged him to leave quickly with the intent of “gaining time”. Franco suggested driving him through Italy and on to France, while Yorgen insisted he first wanted to talk to criminal lawyer Giannella de Marco, who is currently leading his defence team.

The chats exhibited in court showed that Fenech eventually appeared to settle on using his yacht. He told Franco to ask Logan Woods, the yacht’s skipper, to prepare everything for the journey.

In chats between Fenech and Woods on the day of his arrest, the skipper told him a Times photographer was near the marina. Fenech instructed Woods to tell anyone who asks that the boat was due for maintenance.

At one point, Fenech asked whether the yacht’s AIS tracking system was switched off. Woods replied that it was off and that the “coast is clear”. Later, Fenech told him to leave the AIS on and to ensure all relevant documentation was filled in.

The chats also showed discussions about leaving for Catania, travelling without crew, and departing early enough to arrive before the ferry.

Arnaud told jurors that police had already received information about suspicious movements by Fenech at the time, as media reports were indicating that Theuma was set to be granted a presidential pardon.

Despite the multiple chats read out loud in court earlier on Monday, Arnaud said Fenech later claimed he had no intention of escaping Malta.

The trial continues on Monday afternoon.