Yorgen Fenech trial thrown into turmoil as defence threatens to request discharge of jury

The jury hearing the trial of businessman Yorgen Fenech was plunged into fresh turmoil on Tuesday after a dramatic courtroom confrontation between two key witnesses prompted the defence to threaten to request the dissolution of the jury.

The extraordinary scenes unfolded after former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri took the witness stand, culminating in a bitter dispute over allegations that one of Fenech’s lawyers had attempted to influence witness Johann Cremona before his testimony.

The confrontation threatened to derail one of Malta’s most closely watched criminal proceedings, with defence lawyer Giannella de Marco arguing that the judge’s handling of the incident had irreparably prejudiced the jury against the accused.

Madam Justice Edwina Grima said there were no legal grounds to dissolve the jury.

The drama began during Schembri’s testimony when he claimed that Cremona had privately told him he was approached by lawyers representing Fenech and offered money in exchange for favourable testimony.

According to Schembri, Cremona confided that he felt under pressure ahead of appearing before the jury and had spoken to him about the alleged approach shortly before taking the witness stand.

The allegation prompted the court to immediately recall Cremona to give further evidence.

However, once back under oath, Cremona refused to give any further details.

He denied that any lawyer had attempted to bribe him and insisted he had fabricated the story he had previously relayed to Schembri.

The conflicting versions immediately sparked heated exchanges between the prosecution and the defence, with prosecutors arguing that Cremona appeared visibly frightened and was not telling the whole truth.

The prosecution even requested that the witness be placed under psychological assessment and suicide watch, suggesting concern over his wellbeing following the confrontation.

De Marco strongly objected, arguing that the court’s handling of the matter and the prosecution’s remarks had created the impression before jurors that the defence had acted improperly.

Earlier in the day, Schembri sought to distance himself from the investigation into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, repeatedly denying knowledge of key figures while claiming not to remember many of the events surrounding the case.

Questioned extensively by prosecutors, Schembri insisted he had never known middleman Melvin Theuma and had only become aware of him once the investigation became public.

He repeatedly claimed he could not remember details of conversations, meetings and developments despite serving as chief of staff to then prime minister Joseph Muscat throughout the period under examination.

Schembri also maintained he had no explanation for encrypted Signal messages exchanged with Fenech or for information allegedly passed to the businessman while the murder investigation was unfolding.

He acknowledged having known Fenech since childhood but denied discussing the murder investigation with him.

Earlier testimony from digital forensic experts also cast doubt on some of the evidence emerging during the trial.

A court-appointed information technology expert testified that he could not technically verify screenshots presented by Cremona purporting to show communications involving Schembri and lawyers representing Fenech.

However, the expert cautioned that deleted electronic communications are not always recoverable, meaning their absence could not be treated as proof that they never existed.

Cremona told the court that the screenshots were given to him by Keith Schembri.

The trial continues on Wednesday with Keith Schembri to continue giving his evidence.