Maltese businessman paid hitmen €150,000 to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, jury hears

A jury has heard that one of Malta’s richest businessmen allegedly planned to kill investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He is accused of paying €150,000 to three hitmen to carry out the murder.

Yorgen Fenech, who is 44 years old and the heir to a large property business that includes the Hilton Malta hotel, is currently on trial for the 2017 murder. He denies the charges.

Caruana Galizia was killed when a bomb planted in her car exploded. She was a well-known media figure in Malta, working as a magazine publisher, columnist, and blogger. Her work often investigated powerful government and business figures, which made her a target for criticism and attacks. Her death caused widespread shock across Europe.

Fenech was arrested seven years ago. After many delays and being released on bail, his trial finally began recently. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors accuse Fenech of complicity in the voluntary homicide of Caruana Galizia and of associating with others to commit a crime. He is one of seven men accused of being involved in the killing. Five have already been found guilty, and one received a pardon for his testimony.

The jury selection took five hours because of concerns about media attention and its effect on the public. Jurors will be kept apart from the public for the entire trial, staying in a hotel without access to phones or the internet.

The court heard that Caruana Galizia's car suddenly drove off the road and into a field shortly before 3pm on 16 October 2017. A powerful bomb, hidden in a shoebox, had been placed under her driver's seat. Prosecutors claim the hitmen, who were allegedly paid €150,000, had watched her for weeks before breaking into her car the night before the attack.

Her son was the first to reach the scene and found her remains in the burning car. She was 53 years old.

The jury was told that the alleged plot to kill Caruana Galizia began in April 2017. Fenech allegedly asked a friend, Melvin Theuma, to find someone to kill the journalist. Fenech reportedly wanted her dead because she was close to publishing a story about his uncle.

After Theuma contacted George Degiorgio and his brother Alfred, they agreed on the €150,000 price, with €30,000 paid in advance. However, Fenech allegedly put the plan on hold because of a general election. Two weeks after the election, the prosecutor claims Fenech told Theuma to proceed and handed him an envelope with the cash.

The indictment states that Fenech continued to pressure Theuma to carry out the killing, saying Caruana Galizia was about to publish a story about him. The hitmen decided to use a bomb, which was detonated remotely using a mobile phone.

The Degiorgio brothers and another accomplice, Vincent Muscat, were arrested later. Theuma was arrested in November 2019 with USB drives containing recordings of alleged conversations with Fenech, which the prosecution is using as evidence. Fenech's defence team has questioned the accuracy of these recordings and Theuma's testimony.

Prosecutors say Fenech was the mastermind behind the plot. The attorney general is seeking a life sentence for the murder charge and a long prison term for the charge of criminal association.

This case caused a major political crisis in Malta, leading to the resignation of the prime minister at the time. Vincent Muscat received a reduced sentence after pleading guilty and testifying against the others. The Degiorgio brothers changed their pleas to guilty during their trial, which reduced their sentences from life to 40 years.

Two other men, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, were sentenced to life in prison for supplying the bomb. They cannot be released early. Melvin Theuma has been in witness protection since 2019.