Maltese tycoon faces trial over Caruana Galizia murder
Yorgen Fenech, heir to a Maltese property empire, goes on trial for allegedly orchestrating the 2017 car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Prosecutors seek a life sentence.
The long-awaited trial of Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a Maltese property empire, has begun in Valletta. He is accused of masterminding the car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017. Fenech was arrested on his yacht in 2019 while allegedly trying to flee Malta, and he is the last of seven defendants to face trial for the killing that shocked the nation.
According to the indictment, Fenech first approached his friend, taxi driver Melvin Theuma, about killing Caruana Galizia, fearing she would publish damaging revelations about him and an uncle. Theuma then contacted brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, agreeing on a fee of €150,000, which he claims he received from Fenech in cash inside a brown envelope. Theuma later received a presidential pardon and has been living under witness protection since 2019, testifying against Fenech.
The trial nearly stalled days before it began when Fenech filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, arguing his right to a fair trial was violated due to an alleged listening device in a prison meeting room with his lawyers. The court rejected his request to suspend proceedings, and jury selection proceeded on July 1. The process took five hours due to concerns over media influence, and one reserve juror fainted in 33°C heat. Under Maltese law, jurors will be sequestered for the entire trial.
Caruana Galizia had been investigating a controversial power station deal linked to Fenech, and it emerged he owned an offshore company "17 Black" that she was also probing. Her murder sparked international outrage and forced then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign in January 2020 amid mass protests. A 2021 public inquiry found the government fostered a "state of impunity" that enabled the killing.
Fenech denies the charges. The attorney general is seeking life imprisonment for murder and up to 30 years for criminal association. Caruana Galizia's family has attended proceedings, with her sister Mandy Mallia posting on social media about the pain of hearing recordings where Fenech insisted the journalist must not survive. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
