Patrick Demanuele, the Tumas Gaming COO suspected to be part of a money-laundering operation linked to Yorgen Fenech, is believed to have smuggled hundreds of thousands of euro out of Malta for the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect in 2019.

Police sources who spoke to Lovin Malta detailed how throughout 2019, Fenech would repeatedly order Demanuele to transfer thousands of euros to him while he was visiting France.

Demanuele would regularly deliver the cash in person, catching a plane in Malta with the large sums and meeting up with Fenech in France to provide the cash.

On one occasion, Demanuele was called to bring over a six-figure sum to Fenech while he was holidaying with an unnamed woman, believed to be Charlene Bianco Farrugia, the secretary of disgraced former Prime Minister’s chief of staff and alleged accomplice Keith Schembri.

Investigations indicate that Demanuele had even acted as a go-between for illicit cash between foreign individuals and Fenech himself.

Demanuele has been under police bail since his arrest at the start of 2021. He was arraigned in court on money laundering charges along with Fenech in his capacity as the chief operating officer of Glimmer Ltd.

Demanuele and Fenech were charged with a litany of money laundering offences along with company director Anthony ‘Il-Buddy’ Farrugia, employee Nicholas Cachia, and his father Joseph Cachia.

Few details have been given in court on the details of the latest charges, however, it is believed to be linked to evidence obtained on the mobile devices of Fenech.

The contents of the WhatsApp messages were lifted off Fenech’s phone by Europol, who was handed the device immediately after his arrest in November 2019. They have been submitted to the court.

Many have faced charges because of the contents, namely Malta’s former gaming authority CEO Heathcliff Farrugia, who was arraigned over alleged trading-in-influence.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the FIAU uncovered that Tumas Gaming, where Demanuele is COO, failed to implement several measures to address major threats to their money laundering supervision – namely the extent of untraced cash drops from particular players and the possible collusion with customers. It was hit with a €233,156 fine.