Yorgen Fenech And Chris Cardona’s Private Exchanges Detailed Failed Attempts At Bringing A PN MEP Candidate To Their Side
Murder suspect Yorgen Fenech and then-Minister Chris Cardona singled out former PN MEP candidate Frank Psaila as being an opposition member there was a chance at winning him over with promises of employment in the wake of his unsuccessful bid in the 2019 election.
Well-informed sources told Lovin Malta that Fenech reached out to Cardona sometime in August 2019, a few months before his arrest in connection with the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Both Fenech and Cardona claimed in their conversation that Psaila had recently approached them separately to discuss certain issues. Fenech alleged that Psaila detailed his unfair treatment within the PN.
“He wanted me to find him a job,” Cardona reportedly told Fenech.
Psaila told Lovin Malta that he did not accept either job offer.
“In August 2019, Tumas Group, through its Chairman, offered me a position as a lawyer within the company. I received the job offer contract from Mr Yorgen Fenech as the then CEO of the company. Whilst my profession entitles me to render my legal services, in this case, I felt that, given the political climate, I should turn down the job offer – which I did.”
“Regarding former Minister Chris Cardona, I never met him on such a matter or to discuss any job offers. I do recall that once, over a coffee with a friend of mine, he (my friend) asked me what I was doing since the MEP elections. I told him that I was focusing all my time on my profession. He told me that should I need any assistance he could contact Minister Chris Cardona (he was still a government Minister at the time). We never agreed that we should take this forward, and never spoke about it again. In fact, there was never any direct contact, meeting or any job offers from Dr Cardona.”
“I must emphasise that I refused the job offer I mentioned above – related strictly to my profession – precisely because of the political climate, even though in the exercise of my profession I am entitled to deliver legal services when requested.”
In outlining a strategy to bring members of the PN to their side, the pair made a clear distinction between Psaila and other members in the PN, namely MP Karol Aquilina, insisting that they would be able to win him over.
Fenech and Cardona, who was still a sitting minister at the time, had some unsavoury words for Aquilina, with the former saying that he was dying to give Aquilina a beating, particularly over claims the MP made in parliament.
The conversation came a few months after a hotly contested MEP election, which has since been plagued by allegations and claims that Fenech had bribed then-PN leader Adrian Delia to ensure David Casa was not re-elected as an MEP.
Under court testimony, Keith Schembri claimed that then-PN Head of Media Pierre Portelli would meet Fenech once a month to collect €20,000. Meanwhile, he also claimed that Delia took €50,000 from Fenech to ensure that Casa was not re-elected during the 2019 elections. The claim has been echoed by state witness Melvin Theuma.
The claims are currently subject to a magisterial inquiry.
Lovin Malta has previously detailed conversations between Fenech and Portelli during the election which showed that the pair Casa would lose out Psaila, sending a clear message to the electorate of Delia’ support.
Psaila has his own links to Fenech and the Tumas Group, which was a sponsor of Psaila’s NET TV discussion programme Iswed fuq l-Abjad.
In December 2019, Paul Caruana Galizia, Daphne’s son, claimed Psaila was among a few people who received information about the impending arrest of Fenech that needed to be questioned by police. A claim Psaila has denied.
Cardona, on his part, has been linked to Fenech ever since the latter’s arrest in connection with the Caruana Galizia murder.
Claims in court have suggested that Cardona was involved with the plot and previous plot to murder the journalist.
Third parties told middleman Melvin Theuma that Cardona had two middlemen in the murder plot and that Anthony ‘Il-Biglee’ Chetcuti was named as another potential middleman between Cardona and suspected triggermen Alfred and George Degiorgio.
Theuma even detailed a financial relationship between Cardona and the Degiorgios, suggesting he used Chetcuti to pass on payment. Meanwhile, Degiorgios’ brother Mario had told Theuma that Cardona paid them €350,000 to kill Caruana Galizia.
Theuma said he cannot state under oath that Cardona was involved as his information came from third parties.
Cardona, who was subject to a suspected frame-up attempt between Fenech and Keith Schembri, has denied all claims, dismissing the allegations as hearsay and a plot to frame him for the murder.
However, Vince Muscat has also linked Cardona to a 2015 plot to kill Caruana Galizia, while George and Alfred Degiorgio also named him as being involved in the murder and a 2010 HSBC heist.
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