Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech acquitted over journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder
A Maltese court acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the 2017 car-bomb murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Her family and press freedom groups condemned the verdict.
Fenech acquitted of ordering journalist's assassination in Malta
A Maltese court acquitted tycoon Yorgen Fenech on Wednesday of orchestrating the 2017 car-bomb killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Google News UK — Crime (en) reports, drawing swift condemnation from her family and press freedom organisations.
Fenech, whose business interests span the energy and tourism sectors, had stood accused of masterminding the assassination of Caruana Galizia, who was 53 at the time of her death. He was arrested on his yacht in 2019 as he attempted to leave Malta, after a middleman in the murder was offered a pardon to identify those responsible.
Prosecutors alleged Fenech ordered the killing because Caruana Galizia was close to publishing a compromising article about his uncle. The court's acquittal on Wednesday ended those proceedings without a conviction for the alleged architect of the plot.
Family and advocates condemn the verdict
Caruana Galizia's family said in a statement that the acquittal was "denying her the justice she deserves." Her son Matthew Caruana Galizia described the jury's decision as a "terrible decision… that our country may never recover from."
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom said the verdict sent "a disturbing message to those who attack and kill journalists."
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "beyond outraged," adding: "The verdict means that almost nine years since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese authorities have failed to identify and convict the mastermind."
RSF called on Malta to "implement the long overdue measures protecting journalists and media freedom."
The Maltese government issued a statement saying it "took note" of the verdict and remained "committed to ensuring that justice is served."
A murder that brought down a government
Caruana Galizia, dubbed a "one-woman WikiLeaks," had exposed corruption among Malta's business and political elites before her killing shocked the world in October 2017. The bombing set off unprecedented protests and ultimately led to the resignation of then-prime minister Joseph Muscat in January 2020, amid widespread anger over his perceived efforts to shield allies from the investigation.
A two-year public inquiry, published in July 2021, concluded that the state should "shoulder responsibility" for the murder, citing the "atmosphere of impunity" the government had created. A 437-page report by a panel of three judges found that Caruana Galizia had been subjected to personal attacks and verbal abuse from politicians, creating a "favourable climate" for her assassination. The report also noted "convincing evidence" that her killers believed they would be protected by "persons in the highest state positions."
Her family said on Tuesday: "Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. Accountability is now overdue for all those who enabled, facilitated, or protected her murderers."
Five others already convicted
Five individuals have been convicted in connection with the murder for their roles in supplying the explosives and carrying out the killing. In June 2025, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were convicted of supplying the bomb and sentenced to life in prison. The three men who physically carried out the attack — brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, along with Vince Muscat — are serving prison sentences following their own guilty verdicts.
Wednesday's acquittal means that Fenech, the man prosecutors identified as the alleged organiser of the plot, has not been held criminally responsible for the killing of one of the European Union's most prominent investigative journalists. Malta is the EU's smallest member state and has faced sustained scrutiny over its rule-of-law record since the 2017 assassination.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)