Several days ago, the casino community was shocked by the fact that one of the most important people in the casino industry in Malta had been arrested and charged with murder. Yorgen Fenech is now one of the main suspects behind the murder of an investigative journalist from Malta named Daphne Caruana Galizia. She was killed in her car by a bomb back in 2017.
Armed Forces of Malta arrested Fenech in his luxury yacht, which he was using to flee the authorities on Nov. 20. The forces entered the yacht and made the arrest at 5:30 am. According to many local authorities, it is believed that the casino owner had the role of the middleman who paid three individuals a total of €450,000 to make the execution of the journalist happen.
Fenech is now in custody and decided to plead not guilty to three different charges, which are taking part in a criminal organization, complicity in the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and complicity in causing an explosion.
If Fenech is found guilty, he will face a lifetime in prison, as complicity in a murder has the same weight as first-degree murder in Malta.
How Was Fenech Discovered?
According to an article in Malta Today, one of the most critical roles in the process was played out by Melvin Theuma. A local taxi driver, who gave important info about the murder and received immunity and protection. After Theuma got brought in, he stated that Fenech was the “mastermind behind the murder plot.”
However, the taxi driver is not the only one to accuse Fenech. Malta Security Services have been listening to Fenech’s phone conversations for over a year as his phone was tapped. Therefore, the allegations could be confirmed if Theuma’s testimony complies with some of the recorded conversations.
Who Was Caruana Galizia?
Caruana Galizia was one of the most independent voices on the island who had a blog called Running Commentary. She managed to discover some of the most unlikely connections between politicians and the business elite.
In one of her articles, she touched upon a company called 17 Black, based in Dubai, and seems to be directly controlled by no one else but Fenech. The journalist stated in the piece that she had proof that could link 17 Black with some of the top politicians in the country. Although she never had any concrete evidence, she did cause a lot of turmoil and ended up being killed in her car by a bomb.
However, knowing how important she was, her colleagues from all over the world — a total of 45 journalists from 15 countries — decided to launch the so-called “The Daphne Project,” which investigated the murder of the journalist. As soon as the project started, the company 17 Black was brought into the spotlight once again.
All of these things even caused in Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign from his position. Things are starting to become more apparent, but the entire investigation is far from over.
