Vincent Muscat and the brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio have been detained since the end of 2017. The three men are accused of committing the car bomb attack on journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia more than two years ago. To date, however, is not clear who commissioned them.
That could soon change: after several arrests and resignations of high-ranking politicians, the investigation in recent days suddenly picked up speed. In addition, media promoted new details about the background.
The 53-year-old Caruana Galizia was killed on 16 October 2017 in a bomb attack on her car. As a journalist she had regularly reported on corruption, money laundering, nepotism and other illegal business in Malta. Some of the scandals also involved members of the government.
How much money did the contract killers receive?
The Reuters news agency reports that the three contract killers received a total of 150,000 euros for the attack. This had Vince Muscat, one of the suspects, already in April 2018 confessed - probably in the hope of being pardoned. According to Reuters, Reuters has had this information since last year, but decided not to publish it in order not to jeopardize the ongoing investigation. The suspect Muscat is not related to the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
The Malta Today newspaper, citing Maltese security officials, said that Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers received a total of € 450,000. The payment had been made by the businessman Yorgen Fenech on the middleman Melvin Theuma. According to the report, the investigators won their information from recorded conversations Fenechs with Theuma. It is unclear whether Theuma itself received parts of the 450,000 euros, or whether it was possibly about 150,000 euros for each of the three contract killers.
Both Reuters and "Malta Today" announce that Fenech - who was arrested in a spectacular action only on the weekend - has brought another investigator into the focus: Keith Schembri. Fenech accused the longstanding chief of staff of the Maltese government, the actual commissioner of the murder of Caruana Galizia. Schembri was arrested immediately after his resignation on Tuesday.
EU Parliament wants to put pressure on Malta's government
Recent events are also increasingly putting pressure on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The head of government had promised a merciless explanation two years ago, but the investigation was barely progressing for a long time.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is alarmed: The MEPs decided Thursday to send their own delegation to the EU member state in view of the new developments in the coming week.
Members of the Rule of Law Monitoring Group would travel to Malta, said the group's leader, Dutchwoman Sophie in't Veld. The intention of the trip was not to interfere in national affairs, stressed the Dutch. The pressure on Malta's government must be maintained, however, so that the truth comes to light.
The assassination of #DaphneCaruanaGalizia has been cleared on the entire European project. "Clear political links must have clear political consequences." "The European Union can not be silent in the face of what is happening in #Malta." Thank you @ManfredWeber
- Roberta Metsola MEP (@RobertaMetsola) November 28, 2019"The European Union can not remain silent in the face of events in Malta," wrote Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola on Twitter. "Clear political connections must have clear political consequences."