Key facts
- Yorgen Fenech is accused of commissioning the 2017 murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
- Prosecutors allege Fenech paid €150,000 to hitmen for the assassination.
- Fenech also allegedly financed over €400,000 in legal fees for the convicted hitmen.
- Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb.
- Fenech denies the charges against him.
- The trial of Yorgen Fenech began on Wednesday.
Maltese prosecutors detailed the alleged plot to murder investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, stating that businessman Yorgen Fenech paid €150,000 to hitmen for the assassination. Fenech, heir to a large fortune, is accused of masterminding the 2017 killing, which involved a car bomb. His trial commenced on Wednesday.
During the opening statement, lead prosecutor Anthony Vella described how a taxi driver, Melvin Theuma, allegedly transferred money to the bombers on Fenech’s behalf. The hitmen, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are said to have received €150,000 for the bombing, plus expenses and further sums after their arrest. They are serving 40-year sentences for voluntary homicide after pleading guilty.
Prosecutors also claim Fenech financed the legal defense of the Degiorgio brothers, with Theuma reportedly giving their brother, Mario, over €400,000. The jury heard that the legal bills were paid in the months following the hitmen's arrest in December 2017.
Caruana Galizia, a mother of three, was killed near her home on October 16, 2017. Her work had exposed significant corruption within Malta's business and political elites. Vella urged the jury to consider her humanity, stating, "She was a citizen like us, killed because of her work." The trial is expected to last several weeks, with two of her sons due to testify.