The lawyer of Adrian Vella, the doctor of both Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri who allegedly acted as a secret messenger between the pair, has renounced his client, sources close to the investigation told Lovin Malta.

Stefano Filletti was representing Vella until this morning. When contacted by Lovin Malta, he said he would not confirm or deny the story.

Yesterday, Lovin Malta revealed that Schembri is claimed to have used Vella, to pass on secret messages while the latter was under police bail at Mater Dei.

Schembri is believed to have been using Vella to pressure Fenech not to expose him in the case and other corruption cases.

Vella is currently under arrest and being questioned by police.

Schembri is also under investigation for attempting to plot Fenech’s escape a week before his arrest. The plot involved hiding out at Vella’s Gozo farmhouse.

When contacted by Lovin Malta earlier this week, Vella insisted that he had no relationship whatsoever with Schembri. However, a quick look on his Facebook page shows a wealth of photos of him blatantly promoting Rummo, the pasta brand owned by Schembri’s group of companies.

Sources also revealed that Vella accompanied  Schembri on several trips to the US to undergo cancer treatment.

Lovin Malta has also reported that Schembri was one of the last people Yorgen Fenech called before he tried to flee Malta on his yacht last week.

Meanwhile, sources also believe Schembri was keeping Fenech informed of developments in the case.

PN MP Jason Azzopardi, the lawyer of Caruana Galizia’s family, has even claimed that Schembri tipped off the three men accused of carrying out the crime of their imminent arrest.

Schembri has since resigned as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff. However, Schembri was spotted at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s house on the eve of his arrest.