Date: January 6, 2025, 03:30h.
Last updated: January 6, 2025, 03:30h.
Following a criminal inquiry, it has been recommended that two former high-level Maltese politicians face charges in connection with 17 Black, a company owned by casino owner and accused murderer Yorgen Fenech.
Magistrate Charmaine Galea has recommended that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi be prosecuted following an investigation, as reported by Malta Today.
Schembri previously served as the chief aide to former prime minister Joseph Muscat, while Mizzi held positions as an energy minister and later as a health minister in Malta.
Caruana Galizia Car Bomb
Daphne Caruana Galizia, an anticorruption journalist, was killed in 2017 while investigating the Panama Papers, which detailed financial information for numerous offshore entities.
The Panama Papers revealed that 17 Black, a Dubai-registered company, planned to make significant payments to shell companies owned by Schembri and Mizzi.
Following Caruana Galizia’s death, it was discovered that Fenech was behind 17 Black. Her assassination occurred when a bomb exploded in her car on October 16, 2017.
Yorgen Fenech, the CEO of Tumas Group and owner of Qawra Oracle Casino and Portomaso Casino, is accused of masterminding the murder.
The Middleman
Melvin Theuma, known as the “middleman” in the Caruana Galizia murder plot, was arrested by police in November 2019. Theuma agreed to provide information in exchange for immunity. Fenech was later apprehended by armed forces trying to flee Malta on his yacht.
Theuma alleged that Fenech orchestrated the murder and instructed him to arrange for the car bomb to be planted by two brothers, George and Alfred Degiorgio.
Prosecutors believe Fenech ordered the assassination to prevent Caruana Galizia from exposing a corrupt energy contract worth $500 million awarded to Electrogas, one of Fenech’s companies, by the Maltese government.
Caruana Galizia had received a large number of leaked emails from Electrogas in 2017 and was analyzing the data prior to her death.
Fenech denies involvement in the plot and claims Schembri was the one responsible.
Separate Charges
Schembri and Mizzi were previously charged with bribery, criminal association, and money laundering related to corrupt health contracts. The scandal surrounding Caruana Galizia led to widespread protests and a political crisis in Malta, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Muscat’s government in 2019.
Fenech is currently awaiting trial.