Yorgen Fenech, former head of Tumas Gaming Group and owner of three casinos in Malta, was arrested last month in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech was released on bail.
Galizia reported on corruption in government and industry through her investigative blog, Running Commentary. Her October 2017 death in a car bombing made headlines around the world. In December of that year, three men—George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat—were arrested for allegedly placing the explosive device.
Fenech was arrested on his yacht in late November, a day after local media reported that Maltese police had detained an alleged middleman in the murder. That person reportedly sought immunity in return for naming the mastermind behind the crime. Investigators are following an alleged money trail between the suspected middleman, a taxi driver named Melvin Theuma, who received a presidential pardon in exchange for his testimony, and the trio accused of killing the 53-year-old journalist, the Times of Malta reported.
The connection between Fenech and Galizia was discovered by Reuters, which reported last year that she was looking into a mysterious Dubai-listed company called 17 Black Ltd., listed in the Panama Papers. She believed the company, identified as being owned by Fenech, was offering large payoffs to Maltese politicians, including Keith Schembri, the prime minister’s chief of staff, and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi. The two men resigned on November 26 and both deny wrongdoing.
Fenech filed a request for a pardon, including an attempt to bypass the government and go straight to the president. A late-night cabinet meeting rejected the pardon. Schembri and Mizzi resigned, and the economy minister suspended himself.
The Guardian reported that thousands of demonstrators protested on the streets outside Malta’s parliament after Fenech’s arrest, chanting “Justice,” “Mafia,” and “Shame on you.” Despite his quick release, Fenech will be under constant police surveillance, EuroNews.com reported.
BBC called Galizia “a corruption warrior.”
