[WATCH] Keith Schembri's lawyer says police have closed investigation on WhatsApp chats

Keith Schembri is no longer on police bail in relation to an investigation linked to WhatsApp exchanges, his lawyer Edward Gatt said on Thursday afternoon.

Gatt released a statement to the media just after exiting the police Financial Crimes Investigation Department in Santa Venera where he accompanied Schembri.

"The police informed us that Keith Schembri is no longer on police bail because the investigation has concluded," Gatt said, adding the investigation concerned various chats his client had with others.

Schembri was until November 2019, the chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister. Last year, it was revealed that Schembri, Joseph Muscat and Yorgen Fenech had a WhatsApp group between them.

The messages exchanged in the group were retrieved from Fenech's mobile phone that was seized by investigators when he was arrested in November 2019.

Schembri and Muscat were questioned by police last year over the messages in this WhatsApp group.

However, Schembri had also been arrested and questioned following the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry into allegations of kickbacks involving the sale of citizenship. Today's questioning appears to have been unrelated to this case.

Only yesterday, the police also called in former minister Konrad Mizzi for questioning. The interrogation lasted around 90 minutes and Mizzi would only say that he “was willing to cooperate as always” after leaving the building.

Schembri was seen entering the quarters of the Financial Crimes Investigation Department around 2pm and exited around 90 minutes later.

Schembri and Mizzi opened companies in Panama, which had as a target client the Dubai-based company 17 Black, which belonged to Yorgen Fenech.

Fenech is facing charges of masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.