Silvio Debono, the Chairman of the DB Group, said that he used to speak with Keith Schembri (the former OPM Chief of Staff) about ongoing projects, but said that the two were never friends.
Debono testified in court on Monday during the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Debono said that while he would speak to Schembri about projects, this was not done in the capacity as a friend.
Asked about his relationship with former Minister Konrad Mizzi, Debono said he never spoke to him, neither before the ITS project tender nor after.
On the ITS tender, Debono told the board that he was frustrated that the DB group was meant to spend €17 million on the tender, however ended up paying more than that. He claimed that the tender’s price was fair.
Debono also told the board that he had employed Daphne Caruana Galizia back in 2002 for a month or two as a consultant.
Regarding a number of libel cases presented against Caruana Galizia back in 2017, he said he wanted to wash his hands of the allegations that had been made. The cases had been filed after the slain journalist had written about the DB Group regarding the sale if the ITS site. He said that he was definitely opening libel cases when she called him corrupt.