Maltese tycoon acquitted of orchestrating murder of renowned journalist

A Maltese businessman, Yorgen Fenech, 44, was found not guilty of complicity in the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and of criminal association to commit murder. The verdict was delivered in Valletta after an eight‑hour jury deliberation that resulted in an 8‑1 split in Fenech’s favor. The trial, which centered on accusations that Fenech had ordered the killing because the journalist was about to expose his activities, concluded with his acquittal, while his family celebrated in the packed courtroom and Caruana Galizia’s relatives wept.

The case unfolded against a backdrop of earlier convictions and ongoing controversy. In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio received 40‑year sentences for their roles in the car‑bomb attack that killed Caruana Galizia, a 53‑year‑old reporter renowned for exposing corruption, money laundering and organized crime through her blog Running Commentary and her involvement in the 2016 Panama Papers leak. The murder sparked massive public protests in Malta and intensified scrutiny of the island’s political elite. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Fenech, one of Malta’s wealthiest men and owner of a company previously targeted by Caruana Galizia’s reporting, had a motive to silence her, while Fenech shifted blame to former chief of staff Keith Schembri, who has never been named a suspect. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, whose administration was under fire after the assassination, resigned in January 2020, though he was not directly linked to the killing.

The acquittal leaves unresolved the broader institutional failures highlighted by Caruana Galizia’s family, who warned that the country still has not addressed the systemic weaknesses that allowed her murder to occur. Their statement called for lasting reforms to protect journalists and prevent future attacks. In 2025, two men, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, were sentenced to life imprisonment for supplying the bomb used in the 2017 attack, underscoring that while some perpetrators have been punished, the full accountability for the crime remains incomplete. The verdict may influence ongoing debates about Malta’s rule of law and the protection of press freedom.

⚡ Effects Interpreter