The Attorney General’s failure to inform the prosecuting officer whether any more evidence needed to be presented has pushed the case against five men accused of placing Melvin Theuma on the government payroll without requiring him to do any work by a month.

Magistrate Monica Vella is presiding over the compilation of evidence against Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, and Yorgen Fenech, who is also separately accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, are accused of theft and misappropriation of public funds.

The other three men accused with the same charges are former OPM customer care chief Sandro Craus, former private secretary in the family ministry Anthony Ellul and former Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd CEO Anthony Muscat.

Theuma, who had confessed to having acted as the middleman between Fenech and hitmen George Degiorgio, Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat in organising the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, had testified in other proceedings to having been employed with the Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd on 1 May 2017 as part of the deal.

Theuma had visited the Office of the Prime Minister before being given the job, taking a photo with Schembri on that day. However, although he received a salary from the government-owned company, Theuma had never actually turned up for work. 

In the previous sitting, the defence had requested the court to declare the prosecution’s evidence to be closed. The court had informed the prosecution that its behaviour in this case was unacceptable.

When the case continued on Tuesday, police inspectors Nicholas Vella and Brian Paul Camilleri told the court that while the police had no further evidence to exhibit, no reply had been received from the Attorney General with regards to whether any other evidence remained to be exhibited.

Fenech is being represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri. 

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo are defence counsel to Schembri.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti is appearing for Anthony Muscat.

Lawyers Vince Micallef and Ryan Ellul are representing Anthony Ellul.

Lawyers Michael Sciriha and Lucio Scriha are defending Sandro Craus.