A close friend of state witness Melvin Theuma told jurors on Saturday that Theuma had claimed Yorgen Fenech gave him €150,000 to pay the Degiorgio brothers for the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, while also describing how the middleman secretly recorded conversations with the businessman because he feared he would eventually be left to shoulder responsibility for the crime.

Edgar Brincat, known as il-Ġojja, dominated Saturday's sitting in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech, who has pleaded not guilty to complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and to criminal association to commit the murder. Throughout hours of testimony, Brincat recounted numerous conversations he said he had with Melvin Theuma after the October 2017 assassination, describing the middleman's growing anxiety, financial pressures and belief that he needed evidence to protect himself.

The morning began with relatively brief testimony from former Transport Malta director Brian Farrugia, who confirmed preparing a report on vehicles linked to Theuma during a money laundering investigation. He explained that five vehicles were identified, with Auto Imports listed as the registered company and Theuma named as its legal representative. Magistrate Nadia Helena Vella then briefly testified about insurance records linking Brincat to one of Theuma's vehicles before Brincat himself took the stand.

Before questioning started, Madam Justice Edwina Grima reminded Brincat of his right to remain silent if answering questions could incriminate him.

Brincat described knowing Theuma since the latter was young, initially through horse racing before Theuma later helped him with various businesses, including vehicle spray-painting. He said they remained close friends after Theuma left that work.

The prosecution quickly turned to the murder investigation.

Brincat testified that Theuma eventually confided that he had acted as the intermediary between Fenech and the Degiorgio brothers, telling him his role had been to establish contact between the businessman and the convicted hitmen.

Asked where the money came from, Brincat repeatedly said Theuma had told him it originated from Fenech. He said Theuma explained that he had paid the Degiorgios for the bomb, although he could not say precisely when those payments had been made.

The witness also described discussions surrounding a possible presidential pardon. According to Brincat, Theuma believed whoever first approached the police with information stood the best chance of obtaining immunity.

Central to that strategy, Brincat testified, were recordings Theuma had secretly made of conversations with Fenech. He said Theuma's daughter had suggested making the recordings, and that Theuma feared imprisonment because of his own involvement. Brincat recalled advising him to reveal to Fenech that he possessed the recordings, hoping the businessman would somehow help him.

He also testified that Theuma brought pen drives containing the recordings to his house. Brincat said he personally could make out very little because the recordings were muffled, although he believed police would possess better technology to enhance the audio.

Proceedings were interrupted when the defence successfully requested a reporting ban on the contents of particular audio recordings played in court. Jurors were temporarily removed while the legal issue was argued, and the court ordered journalists not to report details of the intercepted conversations.

Once proceedings resumed, Brincat was questioned about former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.

He told the court that Cutajar had allegedly asked him about Theuma's recordings and requested that he obtain one of them, assuring him his identity would remain protected. Brincat maintained, however, that he never discussed the recordings with Cutajar and instead advised Theuma against approaching police. He said Theuma reacted with shock upon learning Cutajar had asked about the tapes because he believed powerful people involved in the case would simply destroy the recordings.

WhatsApp exchanges between Brincat and Cutajar were also exhibited. The messages included discussions about a traffic contravention, the postponement of a court sitting and other routine matters. Brincat said he could not remember the context of several exchanges and denied receiving any advance warning before his arrest alongside Theuma in November 2019.

Returning to the relationship between Theuma and Fenech, Brincat testified that Theuma had claimed Fenech gave him €150,000 to pass on to the Degiorgio brothers. He further alleged that Theuma regularly paid additional sums from his own pocket to a relative of the brothers, believing this was necessary to keep them from revealing his involvement.

The witness described how those ongoing payments placed Theuma under increasing financial strain. According to Brincat, Theuma became frustrated because Fenech was becoming reluctant to continue providing money. At one stage, Brincat said, Theuma threatened to go directly to Castille to demand money from then Office of the Prime Minister chief of staff Keith Schembri, despite never having discussed the murder with him.

Brincat said he repeatedly warned Theuma against taking such action because he believed the entire murder would ultimately be blamed on him. While acknowledging that Theuma frequently spoke about Fenech's friendship with Schembri, Brincat insisted he personally never drew any conclusions from that relationship. He also testified that Theuma had later met Kenneth Camilleri, who at the time served as former prime minister Joseph Muscat's bodyguard, regarding efforts to obtain bail for the Degiorgio brothers.

Brincat described a marked deterioration in Theuma's wellbeing after becoming embroiled in the case. Once known for his humour, Theuma became withdrawn, drank heavily and frequently visited Brincat seeking explanations of English-language news reports because he struggled to understand them. Brincat also testified that he specifically advised Theuma to mention Yorgen Fenech by name in the recordings so investigators would have no doubt about whom he was referring to.

Prosecutor Godwin Cini asked Brincat who, based on what Theuma had repeatedly confided in him over the years, had ordered the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Brincat replied without hesitation: "Yorgen Fenech."

The afternoon session was then dominated by an often tense cross-examination of Brincat, as defence lawyer Gianella de Marco sought to undermine his account of conversations with Melvin Theuma and probe his relationship with former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.

Brincat stood by the central thrust of his evidence, repeatedly insisting that his advice to Theuma had been confined to the secret recordings the middleman had made of conversations with Fenech. Asked to clarify his earlier testimony, Brincat maintained that he had simply urged Theuma to tell the truth about the tapes and nothing more.

In her cross-examination de Marco focused on Brincat's relationship with Theuma and his knowledge of the middleman's affairs. She asked whether Theuma had ever confided in him about his presidential pardon application or the money laundering investigation, but Brincat repeatedly answered that he had not. When asked whether Theuma had been aware in advance that he would receive a pardon, Brincat rejected the suggestion, asking rhetorically how anyone could have known such a thing beforehand.

A substantial part of the defence's questioning centred on Brincat's dealings with former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.

De Marco challenged Brincat over his admission that he had visited Cutajar at his home, suggesting their relationship was closer than he had portrayed. Brincat insisted he had gone there only once, to contest criminal charges he maintained had been wrongly brought against him, and denied ever asking the commissioner to help Theuma obtain a presidential pardon.

"As if! I would never say such a thing," Brincat replied when asked whether he had lobbied Cutajar on Theuma's behalf.

The defence also asked Brincat about how he knew where the commissioner's home was located. Brincat explained that he had learned the address on an earlier occasion after Cutajar had contacted him because his car battery had failed and he had brought him a replacement battery.

De Marco also asked Brincat about the circumstances surrounding Theuma's arrest, suggesting he had instructed the middleman to ask specifically for Cutajar if arrested. Brincat categorically denied doing so and maintained that, apart from one attempt to obtain information about Theuma's situation, he had only met the former commissioner again in court.

The defence returned several times to the audio recordings secretly made by Theuma. The recordings were replayed in court for the defence, although reporting restrictions imposed earlier in the proceedings remained in force, preventing the media from publishing details of their contents.

The cross-examination concluded shortly after 6pm and is scheduled to continue on Monday.