Maltese businessman acquitted in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder trial

A jury in Malta on Wednesday acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of all charges related to the 2017 car bomb murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech, who was indicted in 2021 on counts of complicity and criminal conspiracy, had been accused of orchestrating and financing the killing. He pleaded not guilty and the jury returned a not-guilty verdict on both counts, making him the last of six defendants in the case to be tried.

The verdict was delivered in a Valletta courtroom without cameras, as is customary in Maltese criminal trials. After the decision, Fenech left the courtroom amid a noisy crowd of hecklers and entered a waiting vehicle without making a statement.

Caruana Galizia, 53, was killed on 16 October 2017 when a car bomb exploded as she drove near her home. Her reporting had focused on alleged corruption involving political figures and business leaders, including members of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s inner circle. The murder prompted widespread protests and contributed to Muscat’s resignation.

Other individuals have been convicted for their roles in the plot. In 2022, George and Alfred Degiorgio received 40-year sentences for carrying out the attack. In 2025, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius were sentenced to life imprisonment for supplying the bomb, and Vincent Muscat was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty in 2021. A taxi driver who acted as a middleman was pardoned in 2019 in exchange for testimony.

Caruana Galizia’s children, who were present in the courtroom, issued a statement on Facebook saying the verdict denied their mother the justice she deserves. > “Nine years after Daphne’s assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again,” the statement read.