The middleman in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has said he was so sure of Keith Schembri’s involvement that he didn’t even bother to ask, a court has heard.

Melvin Theuma was speaking on the day a recording he took of murder suspect Yorgen Fenech was played in court.

The audio clip was recorded sometime in October 2018, when Fenech and his children were picked up by Theuma at the airport in his Jaguar. Throughout the recording, Fenech’s children can be heard talking amongst themselves completely oblivious to the conversation taking place in front of them.

In the recording, Theuma can be heard telling Fenech that the three men charged with carrying out the murder would soon be granted bail and they would require €3 million for their release.

Theuma then informs Fenech that Schembri had told him about the bail. However, he today told the court that it was actually ‘Kenneth from Castille’, later revealed to be Joseph Muscat’s former security guard.

“Kenneth told me this, not Keith. I just associated Kenneth with Keith. I was sure of his involvement that I didn’t even bother to ask,” Theuma told the court.

Theuma then explained that he was facing increasing pressure from Mario Degiorgio, the brother of two men charged with the crime when the bail pledge failed to materialise.

“Schembri did not even fix his court affairs, let alone the bail,” Fenech allegedly told Theuma when confronted about the issue.

Schembri denies he was involved in the bail plot, telling a court last month:

“I was once mentioned by Theuma who threatened to bring the Degiorgio family behind my door. No one ever spoke to me about Degiorgios’ bail.”

Schembri, the former Prime Minister’s chief of staff, remains under investigation for his potential involvement in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, along with a litany of other offences which include:

Tampering with evidence, leaking extensive information about the investigation, obstructing justice, and acquiring a phantom job for middleman Melvin Theuma.

The rest of the recordings will be played in following sittings after lawyers are provided with a full transcription. The next sitting is on 5th February at 9:30am.