The lawyer representing Keith Schembri claimed in court that his client is facing an all-round breach of his rights, saying that the police spoke to witnesses after issuing charges.

Dr Edward Gatt said his client had not been granted bail because ‘other people’ were abroad while that person was granted bail immediately upon arraignment. 

He was referring to Adrian Hillman, who was granted bail on the day of his arraignment after being extradited from the UK. Schembri, instead, spent three weeks in jail between his arraignment and his being granted bail.

“The defence, in view of what the previous and present witnesses testified, is reserving its position about a potential breach of rights, which the accused are suffering as a result of the fact that the police witnesses were spoken to after the issuing of the charges,” Gatt told the court.

Gatt was making these observations as the compilation of evidence against former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri continued yesterday.

Schembri is charged together with his elderly father Alfio Schembri, a director of several of the Kasco companies, and business partner Malcolm Scerri and financial controller Robert Zammit.

Schembri was charged with corruption and giving false testimony. He was also accused of forgery.

 

The case is deferred to 12 July between 10:30am and 12:30pm.

The case is being heard by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. 

 

 

10:07 The case is deferred to 12 July between 10:30am and 12:30pm.

10:06 The court is informed that there are no more witnesses today. Gatt informs the court that he has filed an application before the acts of the case are sent to the Attorney General. 

10:05 The next witness is a police officer, who the court notices had not been validly notified. The witness does not turn up. 

10:03 Defence lawyer Edward Gatt asks the witness if the police spoke to him before his testimony. “Yes, a couple of weeks ago. They called me and asked me about the clicks and other things. I spoke to a Xerri... Joseph Xerri,” Mifsud testifies. 

10:01 Defence lawyer Mark Vassallo asks to see the case file since the witness is being asked about the ordering mechanism for consumables. 

10:00 Witness Ron Mifsud from Impressions Ltd is being questioned by AG lawyer Sean Scerri De Caro. “Where did you buy the machines?”asks the lawyer. “We didn't buy them from Kasco,” Mifsud replies. 

09:58 The questioning continues. 

09:58 Lawyer Edward Gatt dictates a note to the court. “The defence, in view of what the previous and present witnesses testified, is reserving its position about a potential breach of rights, which the accused are suffering as a result of the fact that the police witnesses were spoken to after the issuing of the charges. My clients are suffering an all-round breach. My clients had not been granted bail because ‘other people’ were abroad [reference is to Adrian Hillman] while that person was granted bail immediately upon arraignment.” 

09:53 The court orders the prosecution to go straight to the nitty gritty and the charges.

09:53 Gatt: “What is inadmissible is that, these witnesses must be related to the allegations about Allied and Progress, not about clicks and paper. Stick to the facts in issue.” 

09:52 Defence lawyer Edward Gatt raises a point of law. “Troppa bontà, bestialità,” he remarks. Gatt says that unfortunately after his clients were arraigned, the police are speaking to other people. “It is evident that these people are being spoken to. Although it is legal, it is deplorable because once the decision was taken to prosecute, the police didn't have the proof they said they had,” he says. 

09:49 We are back in session. Another witness, Ron Mifsud, takes the stand. He works for Impressions Ltd in Marsa, a digital printing and signage company. He is managing director. 

09:47 He is being asked to exhibit copies of quotations for the machines. He is leafing through papers. Meanwhile, the court takes a short break as we are waiting for some files to arrive. 

09:41 Under cross-examination Debono is asked about the consumables, which he had said were “free”. He immediately clarifies: “They are not free, you pay according to how much use you make.” 

09:34 He is now explaining the printing process, with pictures of the various stages. 

09:33 Eric Debono, a Gozo printing press director, testifies next. He says they would buy paper and machines and ink supplies from Kasco Group. They would deal with Malcolm Scerri on machines. One machine was installed in July 2020. 

09:32 Witness Daniel Azzopardi exhibits cheque deposit images for Alfio and Keith Schembri. Eight cheques could not be found in the system. They are BOV cheques. They were either not scanned or corrupted in the system or returned to the issuing bank. 

09:31 Court IT expert Keith Cutajar testifies first. He analysed several devices and extracted data from them. He presented a report and a 2TB drive containing all this data. He analysed 18 mobile phones, 6 laptops and 26 USBs, SIM and SD cards. The 120-page report is presented to the court. A number of mobiles were not unlocked. They may be unlocked with the help of future updates, he says. 

09:30 We're inside the courtroom. 

09:29 Good morning.