Almost seven years after casino owner Yorgen Fenech was intercepted by the Armed Forces of Malta as he allegedly attempted to flee the island aboard his yacht, his long-awaited murder trial opened Thursday in the capital, Valletta.
One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen, Fenech was arrested on Nov. 20, 2019, on suspicion of complicity in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
As CEO of the family-owned business, the Tumas Group, Fenech oversaw Malta’s Qawra Oracle Casino and Portomaso Casino.
Prosecutors are expected to allege that Caruana Galizia was murdered because she was about to uncover details of a corrupt government contract that benefited Fenech.
Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in October 2017, an incident that attracted international media attention.
Blood Money
Fenech is accused of orchestrating the murder and paying €150,000 (US$177,000) for the killing through middleman Melvin Theuma, who admitted to passing his instructions to gangster brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and their associate, Vince Muscat.
The brothers were each sentenced to 40 years in prison for planting the bomb in a child’s shoebox under the driver’s seat of Caruana Galizia’s Peugeot 108.
Muscat, who cooperated with investigators, received 15 years. In June 2025, two men who were found guilty of supplying the bomb were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Theuma was arrested in November 2019. One day before Fenech’s alleged flight, authorities announced Theuma would receive a presidential pardon in exchange for his testimony about the murder.
Electrogas Deal
Prosecutors will allege Fenech ordered Caruana Galizia’s murder because he feared she would expose corruption surrounding a $500 million government energy contract awarded to Electrogas, a company in which he held a major stake.
At the time of her death, Caruana Galizia was sifting through the Panama Papers, a cache of 11.5 million leaked documents exposing the offshore financial dealings of more than 214,000 individuals, companies, and entities.
Her reporting uncovered evidence that a Dubai-registered company, 17 Black, planned to transfer US$2 million to two offshore shell companies owned by Keith Schembri, then-chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, and Konrad Mizzi, who served as Malta’s energy minister before later becoming health minister.
Caruana Galizia was murdered before she could reveal that Fenech was the owner of 17 Black. The connection was later uncovered by an international consortium of investigative journalists who vowed to continue her work after her death.
Political Crisis
Fenech pleaded not guilty to murder and criminal association. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Neither Mizzi nor Schembri has been charged with a crime. However, both were forced to resign amid the scandal, which sparked mass protests as demonstrators took to the streets demanding arrests.
The case caused a political and constitutional crisis in Malta, ultimately leading to the collapse of Jospeh Muscat administration in January 2020.
