Interrogation Tapes Reveal Journalist Murder Suspect Pointing to Highest Levels of Maltese Power

Interrogation tapes released to a Maltese jury this week have unveiled a startling claim by Yorgen Fenech, the businessman charged with orchestrating the 2017 car bomb killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. According to the audio recordings, Fenech implicated the highest levels of Maltese power, specifically pointing to the former prime minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, as the mastermind behind the murder. The revelations come amid ongoing legal proceedings against Fenech, who faces charges of complicity in the journalist’s death. Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was a prominent investigative reporter known for exposing corruption within Malta’s political elite. Her life was cut short in October 2017 when a car bomb detonated near her home, killing her instantly. The attack, widely regarded as one of the deadliest acts of violence against journalists in Europe, sparked international outrage and intensified scrutiny into the country’s political establishment. In November 2019, Fenech gave sworn statements to police, during which he detailed how Schembri had pressured him over several years to carry out the murder. According to Fenech, Schembri, who served as chief of staff to then-prime minister Joseph Muscat, had repeatedly urged him to eliminate Caruana Galizia. Fenech stated that he was never the person who ordered the hit, but rather a reluctant participant forced into the scheme. He claimed that the nearly 450,000 euros he later paid to Melvin Theuma, a confessed middleman, was not a payment for the murder, but rather money extorted through blackmail. Theuma, a taxi driver and key figure in the case, had previously testified that Fenech had hired him in 2017 to organize the assassination for 150,000 euros. Theuma, who received a presidential pardon in exchange for his cooperation, had secretly recorded his conversations with Fenech and played them in court. These recordings showed Fenech checking in on the operation regularly and handing over cash payments. However, Fenech’s version of events, as outlined in his 2019 police interviews, painted a very different picture. Fenech portrayed himself as a pawn caught between Schembri and Theuma, describing Schembri as a close personal friend and protector. He claimed that he shielded Schembri from Theuma, fearing retaliation from the middleman. Fenech alleged that Theuma had blackmailed him, threatening his safety and even appearing near his children’s school. He further claimed that Theuma had once brandished a gun during their interactions. Fenech also accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of being aware of the plot after the assassination, citing a conversation where Muscat allegedly discussed a planned police raid on Theuma during a birthday celebration at his summer residence. Fenech emphasized that he was not asserting that Muscat knew of the plan before the attack, but rather that the prime minister became aware afterward. Both Schembri and Muscat have categorically denied any involvement in or prior knowledge of the assassination. In testimony, Superintendent Kurt Zahra, who led the investigation, noted that police analysis of phone records contradicted parts of Fenech’s timeline. Zahra highlighted that Fenech continued using Theuma as a family driver despite claims of being under threat. The interrogation tapes mark another layer in a complex trial that has exposed a network involving contract killers, financial bribes, and internal leaks from the Maltese government. Fenech, who has pleaded not guilty to complicity in the murder, will face further questioning as his defense team prepares for its next round of cross-examinations. The trial continues, with the potential to reveal more about the murky connections between powerful figures and the violent end of a fearless journalist.