
A Maltese jury on Wednesday acquitted tycoon Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the 2017 car bomb murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, ending a high-profile trial that had gripped the island nation for years. The 8-1 verdict cleared Fenech, 44, of complicity in murder and criminal association to commit murder after eight hours of deliberation in Valletta .
Caruana Galizia, 53, was killed by a car bomb near her home on Oct. 16, 2017, after exposing alleged corruption in Malta through her blog, *Running Commentary*. Her investigations included scrutiny of Fenech’s business dealings, particularly his role in the Electrogas consortium, which secured a lucrative energy contract under then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat .
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from Fenech’s former chauffeur, Melvin Theuma, who claimed to have acted as a middleman in the murder plot and said Fenech paid him €150,000. Theuma received a pardon in exchange for his cooperation . Four other men—brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, Vince Muscat, and bomb suppliers Robert Agius and Jamie Vella—were previously convicted, with sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment .
Fenech’s acquittal sparked immediate backlash. Caruana Galizia’s family, present in the courtroom, later stated, “Our country failed to protect Daphne. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost” . Reporters Without Borders condemned the verdict, calling it incomprehensible that no mastermind had been convicted after nine years .
Fenech was arrested in November 2019 as he attempted to leave Malta by yacht. His trial followed mass protests that contributed to Muscat’s resignation in January 2020 .
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