A police superintendent today expressed optimism that the truth regarding former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and former Minister Konrad Mizzi will eventually come out.

Testifying in the public inquiry regarding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Antonovich Muscat said “somehow” the police will be able to take the matter to court. So far there is suspicion, but there isn’t enough evidence to take the matter to court, he said.

"Recently there was so much hype, especially following the developments of last November and December, it seems that the Dubai authorities are no longer comfortable with the situation and will finally offer their assistance", Muscat said. So far there has been “zero cooperation” from the UAE on this case.

Asked why Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri had not been spoken to for an attempt to launder money, Muscat replied that it had not happened because no money had passed. "

He also confirms that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi are also the focus of investigations on the 17 Black report.  He says that no transactions took place, but there was correspondence which showed intent.

The inquiry, chaired by retired Judge Michael Mallia – who is joined by Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino and Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro – has already heard a number of testimonies over the past weeks.

The inquiry is being held, among other things, to determine whether any wrongful action or omission by, or within, any State entity facilitated the assassination or failed to prevent it and to establish whether the State had and has in place effective criminal law provisions and other practical means to avoid the development of a de facto state of impunity through the frequent occurrence of unresolved criminal acts.

Follow the minute-by-minute proceedings below. Please refresh for latest updates

4.45pm: That concludes Muscat's testimony and today's proceedings.

4.44pm: Azzopardi asks whether Muscat had ever spoken to Keith Schembri or Yorgen Fenech, to which Muscat replies that he had never done so.

4.42pm: Azzopardi delves into a legal argument over whether Muscat should have taken Schembri and Mizzi up to court even though the UAE authorities had not corroborated their evidence.  Muscat replies that he needs the best possible evidence to charge people in court, in spite of the fact that evidence they had found at Yorgen Fenech's offices corroborates findings related to 17 Black.

4.35pm: "Looking back, if you were a position to give orders, what would you have done differently?" Azzopardi asks.  The inquiry board intervenes, asking instead whether there were any failings or things he would improve if he was in charge. Muscat raises issues on the lack of resources and funding that the police have.

4.33pm: He is asked about Macbridge - the other company along with 17 Black which was linked to investigations involving Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. "Nobody in the world knows anything about Macbridge", he replies. He said that they had mentioned Macbridge in every overseas inquiry that they had made in the hope that some detail would pop up, but there has been "absolutely nothing" that has been found - not even a registration number.

4.32pm: Muscat however states that he is "optimistic" that "somehow" they will arrive at the truth and being able to take the matter to court.  "Recently there was so much hype, especially following the developments of last November and December, it seems that the Dubai authorities are no longer comfortable with the situation and will finally offer their assistance", Muscat says.

4.31pm: Azzopardi asks why Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri had not been spoken to for an attempt to launder money, to which Muscat replies that because they had not passed through any money. "So what!", Azzopardi replies incredulously. "You know very well that the law makes no difference between planning to do so and actual doing it", he continues. "We focused on 17 Black, to try and get information from abroad because today we still cannot call in the person concerned because in terms of disclosure we have nothing", Muscat says.

4.22pm: Coming back to 17 Black, Muscat states that "There has been zero cooperation from the United Arab Emirates on this case".  A meeting which was meant to take place last December on the case was cancelled by the UAE at the last minute. Asked whether there is any support from the Ministry responsible in this collaboration, Muscat states that the first rogatory letter was sent through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.  The first time it was sent, they were sent back and told to send the request directly to the UAE's Ministry of Justice.  When they were sent, they were sent back practically as they were, rejected, Muscat said.

4.14pm: Azzopardi turns to criticism from Moneyval, asking Muscat to verify that Moneyval had criticised Malta on the very low rate of arraignments and convictions on money laundering - Muscat does indeed verify the statement.

4.08pm: "The fact that there is suspicion, I agree totally; but there wasn't enough to take the matter to court", Muscat says. Replying to Madam Justice Lofaro, Muscat states that he never personally sent for someone for questioning and had never been instructed to do so.  Muscat was still an inspector at that point.

4.05pm: In the case of Brian Tonna, Keith Schembri, and Willerby, Muscat says that he did not have enough information to continue with it.  He said there was not enough evidence to suggest that the payments to Keith Schembri through Brian Tonna from three Russians to get a Maltese passport were kickbacks, and to take the matter to court.  He said it will be something which is very difficult to establish unless someone comes forward with details.

4.01pm: Jason Azzopardi asks about Operation Green Power and Operation Green, and the difference between the two.  Operation Green, Muscat said, was a report based on info gathered from the Panama Papers in general which then also saw the Willerby report and the Adrian Hillman report included, but Operation Green Power related specifically to Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri, and 17 Black and all the procedures and letters sent out connected to that case.

3.57pm: Muscat states that he never received instructions to investigate the Panama Papers.

3.55pm: He also confirms that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi are also the focus of investigations on the 17 Black report.  He says that no transactions took place, but there was correspondence which showed intent.

3.51pm: He explains that he had only recently heard about Operation Green, but also notes that the March 2018 report was called Operation Green Power.  He is asked whether he had handled the 17 Black report.  Muscat replies that they had made requests through Europol to gather information from overseas, but the majority of replies - those that did come, Muscat notes - had requested a rogatory letter.  An inquiry was opened and by the end of 2018 two rogatory letters had been sent, Muscat explains.

3.49pm: Judge Mallia asks whether the same thing had happened in November 2016 - for the report on Schembri and Hillman - but Muscat replies that he doesn't have a vivid recollection of this as he was dealing with two other major cases at the time. He says that Ray Aquilina had handled this report on the most part.

3.48pm: Madam Justice Lofaro asks whether Abdilla had taken the decision not to continue with invesigations. Muscat replies that Abdilla had discussed the matter with the FIAU - through Manfred Galdes and Alfred Zammit - over the report on Willerby, along with Schembri's ties with Hillman and the revelations that emerged from the Panama Papers.  This was the meeting where the FIAU had told the police that they would divide their branch of investigations into three parts.  This reflects what Ray Aquilina testified earlier today.

3.45pm: Judge Mallia asks about the report connected to Keith Schembri, Brian Tonna, and Willerby, which was handed over to Muscat in July 2016 from Ian Abdilla with the instruction of reading it and then discussing a way forward - a discussion between Abdilla, himself and Ray Aquilina. Curiously, both Muscat and Aquilina have referred to Abdilla by his full name - Ian Joseph Abdilla.  No other witness has referred to him as such before today.

3.43pm: Muscat has been with the Economic Crimes Unit for 25 years and seven months.  Between 2014 and 2018 he was part of the Money Laundering Unit, and then became Superintendent in July 2018.

3.40pm: Sitting resumes.  Antonovitch Muscat testifies next.

3.33pm: That concludes Aquilina's testimony.  The sitting is temporarily suspended.

3.32pm: He is asked whether he has ever been in contact with Yorgen Fenech or Keith Schembri. On the former, he says that he has never spoken to him, and on the latter he says that it was only to provide declarations in connection with cases he was working on. 

3.30pm: Judge Said Pullicino asks whether the police considered taking action following the Panama Papers. Aquilina replies that when it comes to money laundering, even the attempt to do so is considered a crime. Aquilina says he wanted to pursue the case, but couldn't pursue it further as he did not have the files in hand.

3.24pm: Aquilina is asked about the resources available to his unit, to which he replies that they are pretty poor both in terms of staff and in terms of funding.  It was only in 2018 that the Economic Crimes Unit welcomed financial analyists into its ranks, he says.

3.22pm: Asked whether Chris Cardona is involved in this investigation as well, Aquilina replies in the negative, although he said that he had passed this file on in November 2018 and does not know of developments since.

3.19pm: Aquilina refers to another file which he had passed on to Abdilla before he went out on leave in November 2018. To this day, he says, the file has not been returned to him. Asked who this file concerns, Aquilina says that it refers to a PEP and to a case relating to money from prostitution in the UK along with bank accounts connected to it in the UK and a particular compant in the UK directly connected to the PEP. Judge Said Pullicino asks: "Is the PEP Adrian Delia?" Aquilina nods.

3.09pm: Aquilina states that they had launched an investigation into some of Caruana Galizia's writings, investigations which are still ongoing.

3.04pm: Aquilina confirms that rogatory letters had been sent to Latvia and Dubai. Azzopardi asks whether Dubai were ever forthcoming with regards to these letters: "I haven't seen any replies", is the reply. These rogatory letters were amended after they were sent and after it emerged that 17 Black may have changed its name to Wings Development, and after it emerged that there may have been two other bank accounts which the Police had not known about when writing up their analytical report.

3.03pm: Aquilina quotes a concluding remark from a report dated 20 January 2017, where he wrote that he is "awaiting action" from the end of his superior. The reports are passed onto the board, and it is advised that only the board - not even the family's lawyers - would have access to them.

3.01pm: Aquilina said that he had concluded that having taken action as instructed, investigative action was awaiting outcomes of inquiries from other countries.

2.57pm: Azzopardi asks about November 2018 and whether at that time the file on 17 Black was sent to Abdilla and, if yes, what the conclusion of it consisted. Aquilina states that in November 2018 he had referred the 17 Black file to his superior as he was going to be absent from work for a while so that he could list any developments in the case. He said that he had to retrieve the file himself from Abdilla to update it.

2.53pm: "To this day, I do not have enough evidence to charge someone with a crime", Aquilina says before adding that he has "asked for an explanation" from certain individuals so far.

2.51pm: Keith Schembri is also mentioned in the 17 Black report though along with other persons. Aquilina is asked whether there are politically exposed persons (PEPs), and states that he recalls Konrad Mizzi featuring in the timeframe and in connection with the case.  The timeframe of the circumstances regards Electrogas, the emergence of 17 Black, the payment of a local bank to 17 Black and includes other details such as trips abroad, signing of local contracts, and credit card details.

2.47pm: Therese Comodini Cachia now asks about the 17 Black report and the aforementioned global file and whether these were two separate reports or one whole report.  Aquilina replies by referring to the first meeting between the Police and the FIAU where it was indicated that the matters would be split into three reports.  The third report, he explains, was about 17 Black and other persons of interest who had been mentioned in the other reports.  His use of the term "global" was because it is gathering the time-frame as a whole, he said.

2.43pm: Jason Azzopardi is now asking questions. In March 2018, the police received a global file on all the cases, Aquilina reveals. Aquilina says the investigations are ongoing. The last time he spoke about the case with his superiors was in December 2019.

2.38pm: Aquilina says he hasn't seen the report on Hillman and Schembri since he handed it over to his superiors. The inquiry is still ongoing with the last sitting being held last month, he said, while further rogatory letters have been sent.

2.37pm: The way forward was to first request information from overseas countries through Europol and then see the replies from there, he said. He notes that he was absent between April and June 2018 for health reasons, but that when he got back to work the case was discussed again and a decision was taken to send rogatory letters. Some of the countries asked for the letters themselves, and through the letters the proof to confront the persons of interest in the investigation could be preserved.  On 26 September 2018 we opened an inquiry which is still ongoing, he said.

2.35pm: Asked what happened when they received the last report on 27 March 2018, Aquilina said that this was connected to 17 Black.  He said that he had read the 170-page report, and passed it on to his colleague Antonovich Muscat, who also read it, before meeting Ian Abdilla - who was Assistant Commissioner by then - to discuss the way forward.

2.29pm: Judge Mallia asks about how come Aquilina had not heard of Operation Green; Aquilina replies that he had never seen the file, only the FIAU document.  He said that he had attended a meeting after then Police Commissioner Cassar received the report, and another meeting with the FIAU along with Muscat and Abdilla. In the latter meeting, the FIAU said that their analysis was still not concluded, and that things would be divided into three reports: one on Schembri, Tonna, and Willbery; another on Schembri and Adrian Hillman; and a third report which would be in a more general sense. "And that is what happened - the first one July 2016, the second in November 2016, and the last on 27 March 2018," Aquilina says.

2.23pm: On the report on the alleged passport kickbacks scheme involving Keith Schembri and Brian Tonna, Aquilina says that he read it and then sent letters to ask for further information.

2.22pm: Aquilina states that he has never heard of Operation Green - which Police Commissioner Michael Cassar had said was the title given for an investigation into Keith Schembri and Brian Tonna.

2.20pm: Judge Mallia asks about the report from the FIAU about Brian Tonna, Keith Schembri, and Willerby Inc. He says that Abdilla had passed the report onto him, told him to read it and then give it back to him, which is what he did. "I understand that my colleague Antonovich Muscat worked on the case", he adds. Muscat will testify later in this sitting.

2.18pm: He is part of the Anti-Money Laundering squad within the Police Force, where has been since 2009.  In 2018 he was promoted to lead the squad, but his direct superior from 2016 to today was always Ian Abdilla.

2.16pm: The board members have taken their seats. Ray Aquilina will take the stand first.

2.08pm: The courtroom had opened. As usual, Daphne's parents are among those present.