Keith Schembri And Others Acquitted Of ‘Phantom Job’ Charges
Former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri has been acquitted of theft and misappropriation over a phantom government job that was granted to murder middleman Melvin Theuma, TVM has reported.
Yorgen Fenech, former OPM customer care head Sandro Craus, former Family Affairs Ministry secretary Anthony Ellul and former government company CEO Anthony Muscat were also acquitted.
During criminal proceedings, Theuma said that a few months before Caruana Galizia’s murder, Schembri had given him a job at the government-owned Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd.
He said that although he was paid for it, he never reported for work.
Following his testimony, the police charged five people with theft and misappropriation. However, Theuma refused to face cross-examination in court to avoid self-incrimination, which resulted in the court declaring all his testimony inadmissible.
Schembri welcomed Magistrate Monica Vella’s ruling.
“This is the first closed criminal case against me out of a series of cases that were started by a circle of people who swore to destroy me,” he said. “It’s not because I did anything wrong, but because I’m a Labour supporter who really helped out the party, the government and its people.”
“I have always maintained my innocence and I will continue to do so until the very end. Today’s judgement marks the beginning of the end of a very difficult chapter.”
“The road ahead is long but I won’t give up, and I thank all those who helped me out – even with a simple word of encouragement – over the years.”