VALLETTA — A Maltese court has freed prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech from charges connected to the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, concluding a high-profile legal battle that has gripped the Mediterranean nation.

Fenech, 44, faced allegations of criminal conspiracy and complicity in the 2017 car bombing that killed the 53-year-old reporter. He consistently maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.

Courtroom erupted into starkly contrasting

The courtroom erupted into starkly contrasting scenes as the verdict was delivered. Relatives of Fenech cheered openly inside the packed Valletta chamber, whereas members of Caruana Galizia's family broke down in tears.

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Expressing profound disappointment, the slain journalist's relatives released a scathing statement following the acquittal. "Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed," they stated, adding, "Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne's life.

It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost."

Caruana Galizia earned global renown through her investigative platform, *Running Commentary*, where she relentlessly exposed organized crime, illicit financial flows, and domestic graft. Her reporting played a central role in the 2016 Panama Papers leak originating from a Panamanian legal consultancy, which unveiled hidden offshore entities and sparked intense scrutiny of senior Maltese officials.

Her violent death at age 53 triggered massive public demonstrations across Malta, convulsing the nation's political landscape.

Throughout the recent trial, prosecutors argued that Fenech-among Malta's wealthiest individuals and the proprietor of a corporate entity scrutinized

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While contesting the allegations, Fenech sought to implicate his former confidant Keith Schembri, who served as chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Schembri was frequently a subject of Caruana Galizia's exposés. Investigators testified that Schembri never faced official suspicion, and he has consistently rejected any involvement in the crime.

Although unconnected to the assassination plot itself, Prime Minister Muscat resigned in January 2020 amid the mounting political crisis surrounding the murder.

Legal accountability for the assassination has previously caught other figures. In 2022, siblings George and Alfred Degiorgio received 40-year prison sentences for executing the killing. Subsequently, in 2025, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were handed life sentences.