Yorgen Fenech, a 44-year-old Maltese tycoon, has been found not guilty of complicity in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit murder. The jury deliberated for eight hours before reaching an 8-1 verdict in his favor, clearing him of both charges.
Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in October 2017 at age 53. She had built an international reputation for investigating corruption, money laundering, and organized crime through her blog Running Commentary. Her work included participation in the Panama Papers investigation, which exposed offshore financial structures and prompted corruption allegations against top Maltese government officials. Her assassination triggered significant public outrage and street protests.
Two brothers, George and Alfred Degiorgio, were imprisoned for 40 years in 2022 for carrying out the killing. More recently, in 2025, two additional men—Robert Agius and Jamie Vella—received life sentences for supplying the bomb used in the attack.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Fenech wanted the journalist eliminated because she was preparing to publish information about him. Fenech, one of Malta’s wealthiest individuals, owned a company that Caruana Galizia had previously written about. In his defense, Fenech attempted to redirect suspicion toward Keith Schembri, a former chief of staff to then-prime minister Joseph Muscat and a subject of Caruana Galizia’s reporting. Police indicated Schembri had never been considered a suspect, and he has denied involvement. Muscat himself was never linked to the murder but resigned in January 2020 following political pressure stemming from the assassination.
Caruana Galizia’s family released a statement expressing disappointment with the outcome, emphasizing that institutional failures enabling the murder remain unaddressed and calling for systemic reforms to prevent similar incidents.
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