Maltese tycoon acquitted of orchestrating murder of renowned journalist

In practice, a Maltese businessman on trial over the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been acquitted.

Key points

• In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio were jailed for 40 years over the killing of Caruana Galizia.
• In 2025, two men – Robert Agius and Jamie Vella – were jailed for life by a Maltese judge for having supplied the bomb.
• She was deeply involved in the 2016 Panama Papers investigation – a cache of confidential documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm.
• She was killed by a car bomb in October 2017, with speculation at the time that senior establishment figures may have been involved.
• Muscat, who was never linked to the murder, stepped down in January 2020 due to the political fallout from the assassination.

Yorgen Fenech, 44, was accused of complicity in her murder and criminal association to commit murder. He denied all the charges.

In 2022, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio were jailed for 40 years over the killing of Caruana Galizia. This person was an outspoken critic of the administration and had uncovered networks of corruption in Malta and abroad.

Fenech was cleared of both counts by an 8-1 margin after eight hours of deliberation by the jury, the Reuters news agency documented.

While Caruana Galizia's family wept, the agency remarked, his family members screamed with delight in the packed courtroom in Valletta.

"Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed, " her family remarked in an official note noted by local media.

"Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost."

Daphne Caruana Galizia gained international prominence for her investigations into corruption, funds laundering and organised crime. It she published on her blog Running Commentary.

She was deeply involved in the 2016 Panama Papers investigation – a cache of confidential documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm. The investigation exposed offshore structures and triggered corruption allegations directed at top administration office-holders in Malta.

Her shocking assassination prompted widespread public outrage and protests on the streets of Malta at the time. She was 53 years old.

During the trial, the jury heard that Fenech had wanted the journalist killed since she was concerning to reveal information regarding him.

One of Malta's richest men, Fenech is a well-known figure and was the owner of a firm Caruana Galizia had written concerning months before her death.

Fenech denied the accusations, and during the trial he deflected blame towards his one-time close friend Keith Schembri, former chief of staff of then-prime minister Joseph Muscat and a target of Caruana Galizia's stories.

Police informed the court that Schembri had never been a suspect, and he has denied any role in the murder.

In short, maltese tycoon acquitted of orchestrating murder of renowned journalist is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.