Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech acquitted of charges over Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

After eight hours of deliberation, a Maltese jury cleared businessman Yorgen Fenech of helping arrange the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The jury voted eight to one for acquittal on both complicity in murder and criminal conspiracy.

Caruana Galizia, 53, died in a car-bomb attack near her home in Bidnija on October 16, 2017. She had become one of Malta’s most prominent journalists through investigations into corruption and the Panama Papers.

Prosecutors alleged that Fenech paid 150,000 euros to an intermediary to organize the killing and prevent the publication of information that could harm his business interests. During the two-month trial, Fenech’s lawyers argued that the evidence did not eliminate reasonable doubt and pointed to other Maltese political figures as possible people responsible for the crime.

Fenech, the former head of the Tumas Group and one of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen, attended the trial on bail granted in February 2025. He had spent more than five years in pretrial detention after his arrest aboard his luxury yacht in November 2019, as he tried to leave Malta. The arrest helped trigger the country’s biggest recent political crisis. Fenech denied responsibility and accused Keith Schembri, then chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, of being the alleged mastermind. Suspicions involving Schembri and ministers linked to opaque financial ties with Fenech led to a wave of resignations and Muscat’s departure in early 2020.

Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio are serving 40-year sentences for carrying out the attack. Vince Muscat received a 15-year sentence after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. Taxi driver Melvin Theuma, who acted as an intermediary, received a presidential pardon in exchange for recordings and other evidence implicating Fenech.