Maltese Casino Tycoon Denies Accusations of Involvement in Murder

20:18
13 Nov

Maltese casino mogul Yorgen Fenech has once again vehemently denied allegations of his involvement in the murder of a renowned journalist. He has instead shifted the blame onto other parties, creating a complex web of accusations and counter-accusations worthy of a spy novel.

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Fenech, one of the most significant figures in Malta's gaming industry, was arrested in 2019 following the brutal murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Galizia, known for her relentless pursuit of corruption, had been investigating a controversial energy deal between one of Fenech’s companies, Electroglas, and the Maltese government at the time of her death.

Fenech 's arrest sent shockwaves through the nation, raising questions about the integrity of Malta's government and gaming industry

The gaming industry, which has been a significant contributor to Malta's economy, is now under heavy scrutiny. As the investigation continues, the truth behind the journalist's murder and the controversial energy deal remains to be uncovered.

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What Do the Prosecutors Say?

There isn’t enough space in this article to write a comprehensive overview of what Daphne Caruana Galizia uncovered, but these are the main points.

In 2013, Electrogas, owned by Fenech was awarded a $500 million contract to build a power station which was to provide the state’s electricity provider with energy.

After receiving a cache of 600,000 emails from Electrogas, Caruana Galizia was looking into payments from shadowy companies and one of these, 17 Black, was revealed by the infamous Panama Papers also to be owned by Yorgen Fenech.

She learned it had made payments totaling $2 million to various shell companies in Panama owned by the Maltese energy minister Konrad Mizzi, and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

Mizzi and Schembri have yet to be charged with a crime but they did resign from the government following the death of Caruana Galizia. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat followed them out of office soon after.

Caruana Galizia was working her way through the emails until she was killed in a car bomb attack in October 2017. Now, Fenech remains in prison while the case is ongoing and his lawyers are pointing the finger at Keith Schembri.

Fenech was caught trying to flee the country on his yacht after allegedly hearing that Melvin Theuma, a middleman in the murder who had already confessed, was ready to implicate Fenech in return for immunity.

Theuma claims that brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and their associate, Vince Muscat planted the bomb on Fenech’s orders.