Mysterious ‘Special K’ email takes centre stage in Yorgen Fenech trial

A cryptic email in which Yorgen Fenech allegedly wrote that he wanted to “keep Special K on our side” became the focus of proceedings on Monday as the jury hearing the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case returned to the LNG power plant project that underpinned the journalist’s investigations before her assassination.

The email was presented to jurors during the testimony of Matthew Caruana Galizia, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son, who was called by the prosecution to explain the investigations that led his mother to expose the secret Dubai company 17 Black.

While prosecutors referred repeatedly to the individual identified only as ‘Special K’, the identity of the person was not explained in open court. Another reference in the correspondence referred to “Big K”, adding to the mystery surrounding the internal Electrogas communications shown to the jury.

It is understood that ‘Special K’ was a reference to Keith Schembri, the chief of staff of disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Matthew Caruana Galizia told the court that his mother was the first to identify 17 Black, a Dubai company that would later emerge as a key element in the Electrogas investigation. He explained that he had worked alongside his mother on the investigation before her murder in October 2017.

Following her assassination, he said he was not in a position to continue the investigation himself and instead passed the material to Times of Malta journalist Jacob Borg, whose subsequent reporting formed part of the ‘Daphne Project ‘.

The jury also heard evidence about internal Electrogas emails exchanged at a time when the consortium was allegedly facing financial difficulties. According to the witness, company officials were concerned about media reports after informing the government that the project had defaulted on its contractual obligations because it had run out of funds.

The correspondence suggested that senior company officials were primarily focused on managing public reporting and preserving confidence as they sought additional financing for the project.

Monday’s testimony marked a return to the corruption allegations that formed the backdrop to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s work before she was killed.

Fenech, who owned 17 Black and was a minority shareholder of Electrogas, is charged with complicity in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. He has pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues before Madam Justice Edwina Grima.