Maltese tycoon acquitted of orchestrating murder of renowned journalist

Maltese tycoon acquitted of orchestrating murder of renowned journalist

A Maltese businessman on trial over the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been acquitted.

Yorgen Fenech, 44, was accused of complicity in her murder and criminal association to commit murder. He denied all the charges.

In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio were jailed for 40 years over the killing of Caruana Galizia, who was an outspoken critic of the government and had uncovered networks of corruption in Malta and abroad.

She was killed by a car bomb in October 2017, with speculation at the time that senior establishment figures may have been involved.

Fenech was cleared of both counts by an 8-1 margin after eight hours of deliberation by the jury, the Reuters news agency reported.

His family members screamed with delight in the packed courtroom in Valletta, while Caruana Galizia's family wept, the agency said.

"Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed," her family said in a statement reported by local media.

"Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost."

Daphne Caruana Galizia gained international prominence for her investigations into corruption, money laundering and organised crime, which she published on her blog Running Commentary.

She was deeply involved in the 2016 Panama Papers investigation - a cache of confidential documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm. The investigation exposed offshore structures and triggered corruption allegations directed at top government officials in Malta.

Her shocking assassination prompted widespread public outrage and protests on the streets of Malta at the time. She was 53 years old.

During the trial, the jury heard that Fenech had wanted the journalist killed because she was about to reveal information about him.

One of Malta's richest men, Fenech is a well-known figure and was the owner of a company Caruana Galizia had written about months before her death.

Fenech denied the accusations, and during the trial he deflected blame towards his one-time close friend Keith Schembri, former chief of staff of then-prime minister Joseph Muscat and a target of Caruana Galizia's stories.

Muscat, who was never linked to the murder, stepped down in January 2020 due to the political fallout from the assassination.

Police told the court that Schembri had never been a suspect, and he has denied any role in the murder.

In 2025, two men - Robert Agius and Jamie Vella - were jailed for life by a Maltese judge for having supplied the bomb.