Yorgen Fenech’s business associate Johann Cremona spent much of Wednesday insisting that explosive references to politicians, senior police officers, lawyers, and Fenech himself heard in secretly recorded conversations with Melvin Theuma were nothing more than "a bluff" intended to calm the self-confessed middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case.

As the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech entered its 19th day, jurors listened to a succession of recordings in which Cremona repeatedly distanced himself from remarks linking prominent figures to the case, maintaining that he had merely been telling Theuma what he wanted to hear.

The prosecution, led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, continued presenting audio recordings of conversations between Cremona and Theuma, with the prosecution asking the witness to explain a series of remarks made during the exchanges.

It was a sitting interrupted by power cuts throughout the day, particularly with an hour long delay to the start of the afternoon session as the courts’ backup generator also failed.

At the beginning of the sitting, the court heard a recording in which Cremona said "Ħieles minn kollox" ("free from everything"). Asked what he had meant, Cremona explained that he was referring to Theuma getting away "scot-free". In the same recording, Theuma referred to someone who had allegedly tried to reveal information seven months earlier but had been ignored. Cremona testified that Theuma had been referring to Vince Muscat, known as "il-Koħħu". Muscat is serving 15 years in prison for his participation in the murder, while George and Alfred Degiorgio are serving 40 years.

Another part of the recording heard in court on Wednesday included a suggestion that a magistrate had been bribed. Cremona apologised in court for making the remark, insisting that he had not even known who the magistrate was at the time and should never have made the comment.

The prosecution then played further recordings in which Theuma asked Cremona when Yorgen Fenech had become worried. Another exchange referred to Kenneth Camilleri warning someone not to go to a particular place because of a surveillance camera. When questioned, Cremona repeatedly replied that he could not remember what the conversations had been about.

The recordings also dealt with discussions about money and Theuma's relationship with Fenech. Cremona said he had advised Theuma that any discussions involving money should take place directly with Fenech, adding that he could not understand why Fenech appeared to be communicating with Theuma through him instead of speaking to him personally.

Referring to another exchange in which he had told Theuma he would "lead him in the right direction", Cremona insisted he had merely wanted to reassure Theuma by referring to Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri, maintaining that he never actually directed him anywhere.

Later, another recording referred to an alleged meeting between Cremona and former Office of the Prime Minister security official Kenneth Camilleri. Cremona flatly denied that such a meeting had ever taken place. He also argued that Theuma appeared to have considerable influence himself and that people around him had been "playing games" by attempting to draw Cremona into the situation.

At one stage, Cremona complained that he felt uncomfortable being repeatedly questioned about Fenech, saying he felt he was constantly being placed on the defensive whenever Fenech's name arose.

Proceedings were interrupted shortly afterwards when a power cut affected the law courts. The sitting was suspended while backup generators restored electricity, although the courtroom systems required additional time to restart.

Once proceedings resumed, jurors heard another recording in which Cremona complained about his business partnership with Fenech, claiming that Fenech had attempted to reduce his agreed shareholding from 49.9% to 49%. Cremona acknowledged that he had been angry at the time, telling the court he had been "fed up". He also described the personal consequences of the situation, saying people had distanced themselves from him, banks refused to do business with him and he had ultimately been unable to continue working.

The recordings later turned to an impending police raid, which Cremona said was what he had meant by referring to another "storm" coming. Another exchange mentioned former minister Chris Cardona, with Cremona suggesting that one person would eventually expose the other and that Cardona would become implicated.

Asked why he had made those remarks, Cremona repeatedly maintained that he had simply been bluffing to tell Theuma what he wanted to hear. He apologised to those whose names he had mentioned, saying he had deliberately introduced certain names into the conversation to calm Theuma down.

Towards the end of the morning sitting, the prosecution returned to evidence given by Cremona the previous day, in which he had testified that he had discussed the Daphne Caruana Galizia case with Fenech only once after media reports linked a businessman to the murder investigation. Cremona also explained that a photograph sent to him unexpectedly by Fenech showed the alleged intermediary between the Degiorgio brothers and Chris Cardona, adding that he believed Fenech had sent it because Theuma had told him the two men were in contact.

Asked about remarks encouraging Theuma to "free himself", Cremona said he had simply meant that Theuma should speak directly to Fenech in order to obtain the favour he was seeking. He continued to insist that repeated references throughout the recordings to various individuals, including Kenneth Camilleri, Assistant Police Commissioner Keith Arnaud and lawyer David Gatt, formed part of the same "bluff" and did not reflect genuine knowledge on his part.

The restart of the session for the afternoon was delayed by over an hour after the court’s back-up generator developed a fault, leaving the court house with no electricity, as Valletta continued to suffer from an electricity blackout.

When it did get underway, Cremona returned to the dock and continued to be run through snippets of voice recordings.

In one recording, Cremona told Theuma that if Vince Muscat were to mention him, investigators would have to question him.

He also expressed concern that Yorgen Fenech might leave Malta, saying he believed preparations had been made for a boat and feared Fenech could leave before any police action was taken.

Prosecutor Godwin Cini then referred to another part of the recording in which weekly payments of €1,000 were mentioned.

Asked who the money was intended for, Cremona told the court it referred to payments being passed on to the Degiorgio brothers.

The recording also included a remark in which Theuma said he did not want Cremona to become "his headache." Asked who he meant by "his", Cremona told the court that Melvin was referring to Yorgen Fenech.

In another recording, Theuma is heard discussing what he would do if police were to search his home, and he tells Cremona that he would tell Yorgen Fenech that, if he was going down, he would also bring Fenech himself down with him.

Another recorded conversation between the two sees Cremona saying he intended to warn Kenneth Camilleri to stop calling him about Theuma.

In the recording, Cremona is heard saying he planned to tell Camilleri not to contact him again regarding Theuma because Theuma was determined that, if police carried out a raid, he would reveal everything.

Asked about the conversation, Cremona told the court he never intended to make the call. He insists the remarks were also a bluff and were intended only to reassure and calm Theuma.

Another recording has Theuma telling Cremona that he was going to “expose them” – and Cremona told that jury that he thinks the reference is for Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri.

In the next recording played out in court, Cremona is heard warning Theuma not to lose his mobile phone and because police were preparing to seize Yorgen Fenech's phone at Gatwick Airport.

The recording also heard Cremona say that if his company was subjected to an asset freeze, he would shoot himself with a "9mm firearm."

But Cremona tells the court that the reference to Gatwick was fabricated, and that he was going through financial difficulties at the time because of personal debts.

Later in the conversation, Theuma suggested that Fenech had been caught.

Cremona responded that Fenech had not been caught but that police were "onto him," before telling Theuma that he was the one truly caught because he held the "key."

Cremona explained that the "key" mentioned in the conversation referred to the recordings, which Theuma had told him former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar knew about.

Theuma is heard saying, "I think he is caught" in yet another recording, and Cremona told the court that, as he understood it, Theuma was referring to Yorgen Fenech.

He however acknowledged that throughout many of the recorded conversations, he often mixed up the people he was referring to, sometimes speaking about Theuma and at other times about Fenech.

At one point in the same conversation, Cremona was heard saying, "Doesn't he know that she's worse dead rather than alive?" 

The witness confirms before the jury that he was referring to Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Theuma said in the next recording that he intended to bring Yorgen Fenech down despite the vast difference in their financial means.

Cremona told the court that Theuma was referring to the financial disparity between them, explaining that Fenech was a millionaire while Theuma was not.

Cremona told the court that after Theuma learned he was under police investigation, he no longer trusted him and began speaking to him in a more aggressive manner.

According to Cremona, Theuma had become aware that police knew about his money laundering activities, prompting the bank to ask him to declare the source of his funds.

In one of the recordings, Cremona is heard telling Theuma that "Yorgen is in the spotlight." He explained that this was "the best medicine" for Theuma because it was the only thing that managed to calm him down.

That is where Cremona’s testimony ended.  He will return to the witness stand on Thursday as the trial continues.