Updated | Police questioned member of Cardona’s secretariat in Caruana Galizia murder investigation

A member from the secretariat of Economy Minister Chris Cardona have been questioned by police, under caution.

MaltaToday is not informed of the identity of the secretariat member.

A source said that anyone who had been mentioned in the course of the recent investigation, was being spoken to under caution.

This is the second development related to the request on Saturday to have Cardona answer questions, but not under caution, in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia and the murder investigation.

Cardona had sued the journalist when she alleged the minister and his aide had been seen inside a German brothel outside Hamburg, while on official duty. Cardona had sued for libel, but the case was struck off earlier this year after both sides appeared unwilling to pursue the case.

On Saturday, Cardona denied to the police any involvement in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder during a short questioning session at police HQ this morning.

Contacted by MaltaToday, the Economy Minister said the police had asked him four questions, including whether he knew Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the Caruana Galizia murder.

“I answered no,” Cardona said.

“I was asked whether I had any involvement in the murder, and I answered no. I was also asked whether I had passed on money, and again my answer was no,” Cardona said.

The minister said that he was also asked why he had dropped libel proceedings against Daphne Caruana Galizia. “I told them that I did not drop libel proceedings,” Cardona said.

The reference is to libel proceedings Cardona had started against Caruana Galizia on the brothel allegations in January 2017. Cardona’s libel case against the late Daphne Caruana Galizia was struck off by a court last year, and afterwards, his aide ceded his own libel case.

The fact that both cases did not continue means that the opportunity to verify whether the minister and his aide had been inside a German brothel while on official business was lost. A cache of mobile data held under the custody of the magistrate would have revealed the location of Cardona and his aide.

Caruana Galizia had claimed back in January 2017, that the pair had visited a brothel in Germany and the information was based on an anonymous eyewitness source.

Cardona was called in for questioning at police HQ on Saturday morning and left shortly afterwards.

A statement released by the Department of Information said Economy Minister Chris Cardona was asked “to provide some clarifications, including on speculations that were made about him in the past”, as part of the ongoing police investigation.

“As he has always done, Minister Cardona, responded immediately to the request by cooperating fully with the police, and remains ready to cooperate further so as to clarify any issues or questions that might crop up as part of the ongoing investigation,” the statement read.