Printing machine, vital, phantom job, murder leak and 17 black: Keith Schembris cases

#1: The printing machine for the progress press pressing

On March 18, 2021, Schembri himself announced that in relation to a money laundering probe, in which he, Adrian Hillman and the directors of the Allied newspapers were involved in the purchase of a printing press, was involved in criminal charges.

The request dealt with allegations, Hillman, a former managing director of the Allied newspapers, received bribes worth € 650,000 through a company with British -Jungs -Fern Island.

A second examination also showed that Schembri had received two payments for setbacks of € 50,000 by selling Maltese passports via the IIP system. This investigation was completed in September 2020, and Schembri was arrested and interrogated by the investigators about the conclusions of the investigation.

Schembri was charged with 10 other people in court on March 20, 2021, including his father, Hillman and former chairman of the progress press, Vince Buhagiar.

The court Times of Malta and the Sunday times of Malta – In the end, she paid $ 6.5 million for printing machines with the money that was shared between Schembri, Malcolm Scerri and Allied Group Directors Hillman and Buhagiar.

However, the sale of the machines concerned, which will become Prime Minister Muscat in front of Schembri's chief of staff, focused on transactions that extended until 2015.

Schembri was taken into custody and spent almost two weeks in prison before finally granting a deposit.

He had spilled doubts about the master's examination, which led to his later indictment and described his arrest as a “conspiracy from the PN establishment” – a clear implication that the nationalist party had somehow adopted the country's institutions.

He also reminded the supporters in front of his public prosecutor's important role that he played in a clear goal of starting Labor supporters in the party's series.

Muscat's successor, Robert Abela, has reclaimed Schembris doubts about the request for office and explained that he has fully trusted in the institutions – including the questioning judge in this case – and no matter who they are, they have undermined their integrity.

Schembri and all other defendants are currently waiting for the process in connection with the case.

#2: Melvin Theumas Phantomjob

In June 2022, it turned out that Schembri belonged to five sets that Melvin Theuma was made available by a phantom job – the enthusiastic middleman in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Yorgen Fenech, who was accused due to murder of the journalist, the former OPM employee Sandro Craus, the former private secretary of the Family Ministry, Anthony Mario Ellul, and the former CEO of the government, Anthony Muscat, for murder on the journalist.

They were all charged with theft and embezzlement of public funds – charges that they reject.

The charges were born from Theuma's testimony in the murder case in Caruana Galizia. He told a court that he received a phantom job from the government who is essentially a job in which you do not have to report to work, but is still paid.

Theuma had said that Fenech had told him that he was expecting a call from Craus, and the next day he was hit by Schembri on the steps of Castille. Theuma and schembri posed in Castille for a photo and Theuma was given a government job. He told the court that he had never gone to work, but still received a monthly salary.

The main secretary Mario Cutajar later said that Theuma was “after a public call” and was in the books between May and August 2017. Theuma had testified that the job had discussed the goal against Caruana Galizia with Fenech days after he had discussed the goal against Caruana.

However, there was a catch: Theuma itself refused to testify in this special case after questions arose as to whether his pardon of the President really protected him from self -crime if he should testify.

The defenders then demanded that every reference to Theuma's statement before the request for office is triggered in the Phantom job – but this application was rejected, which caused the presiding magistrate to officially accuse the five defendants in October 2022.

In November 2024, however, the Magistrat Monica Vella stated that Theuma's certificate is inadmissible after further refusing to testify and examine.

The magistrate decided that Theuma's refusal to undergo a cross -experiences had violated several legal principles and left the court without choice when the defense's request to rule out his certificate.

The court further ordered the removal of this certificate from the case recordings, including those from the lower examination that had been submitted as evidence. This jeopardized the fate of the case for law enforcement because he gained his own words from Theuma's own words.

#3: The Vitals Hospitals' Deal

Perhaps the best known case of all – Schembri belonged to a large number of people – including his former boss Joseph Muscat – who were charged with the deal of Vital Hospital, which Muscats conveyed administration.

Schembri is exposed to numerous charges, including corruption, fraud, conspiracy for inspection of crime and money laundering in connection with the transfer of three state hospitals for the global health care of Vital.

The deal was already declared fraudulent and canceled in 2023, but an incumbent investigation that was launched in the run -up to the elections to the European Parliament in 2019.

Timing attracted the government's criticism, with Prime Minister Abela reacted very differently than he reacted when Schembri faced his first charges in connection with the request of the progress press.

This time, the Prime Minister and the members of the government questioned the time of the completed investigation that a shady so-called “establishment” orchestrated things to undermine the Labor party and to take up several doubts.

Schembri, together with Abela's predecessor Muscat and former minister Konrad Mizzi, was charged in court on May 28, 2024 and met in Valletta by a lot of supporters who sing their name and protested their innocence.

All accused, including Schembri, have not guilty and questioned everything from the case itself to foreign experts who dealt with the request for office.

On June 25, 2024, the magistrate Rachel Montebello stated that there is sufficient evidence of schembri, muscat, mizzi and company to put the case in court.

The case remains.

#4: Licks from the examination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

In November 2024, it turned out that Schembri was also exposed to charges for an examination of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder examinations.

Schembri was charged with MeinEids and violated the official Secret Act after a five -year investigation was triggered by a claim by Yorgen Fenech himself that Schembri had seeped into information about him.

Since then, a court has heard how Schembri had in the possession of a confidential police -e email about two Maltese persons who were incorrectly arrested in Sicily -a case that Fenech Schembri had asked.

Last week it turned out that Schembri Fenech had drawn attention to the fact that Vince Muscat – one of three Hitmen who was committed to killing Caruana Galizia – was able to work with the police. Something that prosecutors argued that only Schembri could know.

Once, in January 2019, Schembri sent a court contract that had not yet been published. Another time, in February 2019, Schembri sent an internal police email to Fenech. The investigators said and said that the former OPM chief of staff used the word “Confi” on these occasions to interpret the documents were confidential.

Studies also showed that Schembri and Fenech communicated via a messaging app called Signal, which had an attitude that allows it after a certain number of hours that messages would disappear. WhatsApp now also has this function, but not in 2019.

After the police had checked Fenech's phone, he found that Fenech changed the missing messaging settings about 13 times. There were also 149 preliminary calls between the two signals, with the investigators saying how the Duo in 2019 constantly exchanged news until Fenech was arrested in November this year.

Schembri had also been brought to the survey when Fenech was arrested, but he had told the police that he had lost his phone.

#5: 17 black

This is the most recent case of the five and was also born from an incumbent examination, which was requested by a member of the public – in this case by the then leader of the opposition Simon Busuttil.

The request was requested after media reports had shown that the secret Dubai Company 17 Black was listed as “target customer” for Schembri and Mizzi's once secret Panama companies in a leaked document.

In 2018 it was unveiled by Times of Malta And Reuters that 17 Black owned by Fenech, a shareholder of the Electrogas Consortium, which a tender made of multi-million euro gas power plant won.

The leaked document showed that Fenech intended to use 17 blacks to the Panama companies that are Schembri and Mizzi a few years earlier in the Panama Papers examinations.

Schembri, Mizzi, Fenech and several others were charged with corruption, trade with influence and criminal association. They all not guilty.

Last month, the magistrate Rachel Montebello said that there was sufficient evidence of the accused people in order to be on trial.

The case will continue next month.