Published on 02/09/2026 – 22:08 GMT+2
A Maltese jury found businessman Yorgen Fenech not guilty on Wednesday of charges tied to the 2017 car bomb murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The murder sent shockwaves across Europe, triggered mass protests that forced a prime minister’s resignation, and revealed a pervasive climate of impunity in Malta, the EU’s smallest nation.
Yorgen Fenech, a leading Maltese businessman, faced indictment in 2021 on charges of complicity and criminal conspiracy, stemming from his role in a consortium awarded a disputed government contract to construct a power plant.
Prosecutors alleged that Fenech orchestrated the assassination and directed the planning and payment for the attack.
Fenech entered a not‑guilty plea, and the jury returned acquittals on both counts. He was the final defendant among roughly half a dozen individuals who had been charged in connection with the plot.
After the verdict, Fenech exited the Valletta courtroom to find a chaotic scene outside, where hecklers shouted as he entered a waiting car. He declined to comment.
Targeted for her anti‑corruption investigations
Daphne Caruana Galizia, aged 53, was killed on 16 October 2017 when a car bomb detonated as she drove near her home.
She had produced extensive reporting on alleged corruption involving Malta’s political and business elite.
Her work targeted members of then‑Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s inner circle, accusing them of holding offshore firms in tax havens uncovered by the Panama Papers. She also scrutinised opposition politicians and prominent Maltese business leaders.
At the time of her death, Caruana Galizia was defending herself against over 40 libel suits.
An independent inquiry published in 2021 determined that the Maltese state “bears responsibility” for the assassination, attributing it to a culture of impunity that originated at the highest echelons of government.
Other convictions in the case
In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio entered guilty pleas for carrying out the murder and received identical 40‑year prison sentences.
Jamie Vella and Robert Agius were handed life sentences—the maximum penalty—in 2025 after being convicted of complicity in the murder. Prosecutors alleged that the pair supplied the bomb used in the attack.
Vincent Muscat admitted guilt in 2021 for his involvement in the murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Taxi driver Melvin Theuma, who confessed to acting as a middleman, received a presidential pardon in 2019 in return for his cooperation and testimony.
Family: ‘Our country failed to protect Daphne’
Her children have been at the forefront of the quest for accountability and justice. Her sons were present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced but left without speaking to reporters.
In a Facebook statement, the family said the verdict denied Caruana Galizia the “justice she deserves.”
“Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that allowed her murder remain uncorrected. True justice, the family added, means ensuring no one else will face such risks. ‘Our country failed to protect Daphne. It owes it to her to prevent other lives from being lost,’ the statement concluded.
As is standard practice in Maltese criminal proceedings, no cameras were permitted inside the courtroom.