The long-awaited trial of Yorgen Fenech got underway this week, as the millionaire heir to a casino and hotel empire in Malta is accused of spearheading the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia – a case that has gathered international coverage of a reporter exposing Malta’s criminal underworld.
Fenech has denied the charges since his arrest in 2019, which also saw the freezing of Fenech’s assets. Since then, the case has suffered significant delays in reaching court, sparking widespread criticism from campaigners and the victim’s family.
Caruana Galizia was murdered in 2017 following a car bombing, with five already convicted over links to the murder. The case also led to the downfall of the Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, who an investigation had found created an atmosphere that meant those who committed the murder felt like they could act with impunity.
The prosecution is alleging that Fenech orchestrated the murder of Caruana Galizia as she was leading the uncovering of corruption from Fenech, specifically around an offshore company based in Dubai called 17 Black.
Central to the case of the prosecution is star witness Melvin Theuma, who was given a presidential pardon in 2019, to reveal more about the murder.
According to the prosecution, Theuma was hired by Fenech to find a source to kill Caruana Galizia, before the journalist could release information on the Maltese businessman.
Something of a middleman in the case, Theuma reportedly recorded conversations with Fenech following the murder to bolster his position as a star witness in the case.
Already serving time in prison and convicted of a role in the murder are Alfred and George Degiorgio, with the prosecution also claiming that Fenech had financed both of their defences during trial.
The case will continue with the eyes of the world on Malta, in a case that has drawn global attention, as Fenech faces a life behind bars if he is found guilty.
Although confined to a pre-trial detention centre for much of the time since his arrest, Fenech’s links to the gambling sector haven’t been fully eradicated.
Just last year, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling authority, backed its decision to reject a licence application from a Maltese operator after learning that one of its former shareholders was Fenech.
The unnamed operator had originally applied for a licence to enter the Dutch market in 2023, only for the KSA to rule that the company fell short when it came to the country’s integrity test. The operator reacted by taking the regulator to court in a bid to overturn the decision, but a judge ruled in favour of the KSA.
Key to the shortcomings in the operator’s application was the lack of information supplied about a specific former shareholder in the company.
The regulator came to the conclusion that there was insufficient information in the company’s statements and that it had also made false reports, which caused it to reject the application. The Court found that the basis for reaching that decision was justifiable.
