Tuesday’s arrests have exposed a network of men believed to have ordered, planned, facilitated and executed the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

At the top of the pyramid sits business tycoon Yorgen Fenech, who stands charged with having ordered the killing of the prominent journalist in October 2017.

Fenech, one of the richest men on the island, is a principal investor in the Electrogas power station project and was exposed as the hidden owner of secret offshore company 17 Black, a suspected vehicle for kickbacks to senior politicians.   

Caruana Galizia was probing Fenech’s business dealings at the time of her death; however, it is still not excluded that there may have been more than one mastermind behind the assassination.

Upon his arrest, Fenech had initially tried to pin the murder on former economy minister Chris Cardona in a failed bid to gain immunity from prosecution. He later claimed it was former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri who had ordered the assassination. Both Cardona and Schembri deny any involvement.

The next link in the chain, connecting Fenech to the murder, is middleman turned state-witness Melvin Theuma.

Melvin Theuma.Melvin Theuma.

Theuma struck a deal for immunity in exchange for naming Fenech as the man who ordered and financed the murder.

He claims to have acted as a go-between, connecting the lofty entrepreneur to known hardened criminals.

However, according to court testimony, Theuma says it was Fenech who recommended that he speak to alleged hitman George Degiorgio to carry out the murder.

A taxi driver with a slot at Fenech’s Hilton Hotel in St Julian’s, Theuma has been linked to a major underground betting racket. 

Known to the police as lifetime career criminals, the Degiorgio brothers, Alfred and George, are believed to have acted as the lead assassins while Vince Muscat helped out as their assistant.

Alfred and George Degiorgio.Alfred and George Degiorgio.

George, known as Iċ-Ċiniż, and Alfred, il-Fulu, are suspected bank robbers and remain persons of interest in a string of unsolved murders.

Blind in one eye, Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, might seem an odd choice of look-out, but he is a trusted associate of the Degiorgios. 

Graphic: Christian Busuttil/Design StudioGraphic: Christian Busuttil/Design Studio

That changed, however, when the group were arrested in a dawn raid on their Marsa hideout in December 2017.

Muscat has long indicated his willingness to cooperate with the authorities, and while his first attempt at a clemency deal was shot down, he eventually negotiated a plea bargain that was filed in court this week. 

Vince MuscatVince Muscat

In exchange for admitting to his part in the crime and cooperating with investigators, Muscat was handed a 15-year sentence, far shorter than the life in prison facing the other accused. 

As Muscat registered his admission in open court, heavily- armed police officers carried out raids and arrested another pair of men believed to be involved in the crime, the bomb suppliers.

Robert Agius, known by the family moniker tal-Maksar, and his associate Jamie Vella were charged this week with having handed over the explosive device used to kill Caruana Galizia. 

It is understood that they also taught the alleged assassins how to detonate it using a mobile phone. 

The two had been among a group of 10 men arrested in nationwide raids that first nabbed the alleged hitmen back in 2017. 

Both men have long been mentioned in connection with organised crime.

More than three years later, the police have now apprehended a larger web of alleged criminals linked to the journalist’s killing that shocked the country.

Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà boldly stated that based on the evidence available, all those believed to be involved in the murder of the journalist have been caught.

Major questions still swirl about Keith Schembri’s potential involvement, particularly in the ensuing cover-up that saw sensitive information about the investigations into Theuma and Fenech leaked to the prime suspects.

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