Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1178032
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 OCTOBER 2019 ANALYSIS Revisiting the criminal landscape THE key to the problematic hypothesis of a double-tiered conspiracy in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia lies in unravelling a complex web of financial transactions, probably originating from a foreign source of income pro- cessed by a Maltese bank. This elusive piece of evi- dence would connect the mas- termind to a criminal ring, or a handler already familiar with the Degiorgio brothers. The second obstacle is to prove this lasting relationship with George Degiorgio 'ic-Ci- niz', and Alfred Degiorgio 'il- Fulu', the material executors of the assassination, whom po- lice investigators place higher up the criminal confraternity than Vince Muscat 'il-Kohhu'. The Caruana Galizia assassi- nation was the last in a series of car bombs and gangland murders that had been previ- ously portrayed as a chain of vendettas in the world of oil smuggling and drug traffick- ing. "If the Degiorgios are con- nected to other car bombs, then there must be some form of financial relationship with this criminal ring, as re- cipients of hard cash or other forms of durable assets," says one police investigator with knowledge of the Caruana Galizia investigation says. All three accused, including Vince Muscat 'il-Kohhu', have claimed to be unemployed, yet they lived a far-from-penni- less lifestyle, owning luxury cars and pleasure boats, al- though no immovable proper- ty. Property rents were paid in cash. Large transactions were wired to foreign recipients. Alfred Degiorgio played some €571,000 in Tumas-owned casinos. Now all three and George Degiorgio's partner Adelina Pop are facing money laundering charges. If all these assets were con- nected to criminal relation- ships – that is, pay-offs to carry out murders or bombs – what would happen when they are superimposed over the last 10 years of gangland murders and car bombs? It could certainly cast a light on the syndicates of drugs and oil smuggling. "It is not too late for Malta to bring Daphne's killer to jus- tice in a credible manner," the United States embassy said this week – imparting a tone of much-needed optimism – on the second anniversary of the assassination, while remind- ing the public of Malta's long saga of unsolved car bomb murders. The US has been one of Malta's unstinting partners in helping police investigators get to the Degiorgios. It has al- so been equally keen in push- ing for Malta-sponsored sanc- tions against suspected oil smugglers Darren and Gordon Debono, the alleged members of a multi-million Libya-Italy smuggling operation. One can only wonder what insight could police investigators glean from the vaults of the shuttered Satabank, revealed to have processed millions in criminal transactions, includ- ing those for the Libya-Malta oil smuggling syndicate. The other arrests When the Caruana Galizia assassination suspects were arrested back in December 2017, police also arrested seven other men: one of them was Adrian Agius, son of mur- dered car dealer Raymond Agius 'tal-Maskar', shot dead in 2008 in the Butterfly Bar of Birkirkara. His killers were never apprehended. Agius was never charged and it remains unclear why he and his brother had been appre- hended, but he had already earned his dishonourable mention on Caruana Galizia's blog. Despite wanting, in fact, the post carried a familiar ring of having been whispered by a police source, someone in the know. She 'wrote' three times in one day – 12 October 2014 – about Agius. But the story of the day was news of the More Supermarkets 'bust' that left an alleged €40 million in debts after its prime mover ran away from the island. Agius held a directorship in companies tied to the More Supermarkets chain, whose main sharehold- er Ryan Schembri – cousin of bête noire Keith Schembri (he had yet to reach Panama noto- riety) – had left Malta leaving millions in unpaid credit from the supermarket's suppliers. She first said Agius, a direc- tor of these companies, was part of a "crime gang" tak- ing loans from businessmen wanting to avoid tax, and promised interest of 20% on alleged shipments of "meat from Brazil" – her quotation marks indicating a heightened sense of scepticism. Minutes later, she placed Agius as a friend and close associate of drug dealer Ter- ence Gialanze, who vanished in November 2012 at the age of 24, and is now presumed dead. Gialanze had been a familiar theme for Caruana Galizia (he lived in Bidnija…). But it often came from tidbits of truth and rumour. Gialanze's disappear- ance was noted in just terse snippets. When on 12 Decem- ber, 2012, the double gangland hit saw Josef Grech 'il-Yoyo' shot in the head and Joseph Cutajar 'il-Lion' gunned down in Mosta, Caruana Galizia noted that the disappearance of Gialanze should be consid- ered a murder investigation, given his alleged role in drugs and prostitution and proxim- ity to the shooting. Then, when in July 2013 the bodies of Mario Camilleri 'l- Imniehru' and his son Mario were found in a shallow grave in Birzebbugia, she was quick to resurrect the Gialanze disappearance and drug-related hits. Only that Mario snr's brother-in-law was later arrested and charged with the murder, carried out over an apparent debt he was unable to pay. Yet this time she used the occasion to hit out at then Labour home affairs minis- ter Manuel Mallia, a former criminal defence lawyer who counted cocaine trafficker Mario Camilleri amongst his clients. "The last thing we need, in this horrible, escalat- ing scenario, is a cocaine-traf- fickers' lawyer as Police Min- ister. It doesn't inspire public confidence at all." Then in 2014, once again Gialanze's mention featured in a post related to the More Supermarkets bust, pre- c e d e d In one of Daphne Caruana Galizia's pithier observations, the assassinated journalist had questioned at which point would Malta's series of gangland murders and car bomb assassinations come together to form a coherent narrative, and whether such intimate connections had a political bind. MATTHEW VELLA revisits the car bombs and murders that predate Caruana Galizia's assassination TIMELINE Gangland hits and car bombs Apr 2008 • Murder of Raymond Agius at Butterfly Bar: unsolved Nov 2010 • Murder of businessman Joe Baldacchino: criminal Romeo Bone investigated, not charged, case unsolved Nov 2012 • Disappearance of Terence Gialanze, alleged drug dealer: presumed dead Dec 2012 • Gangland murders of Josef Grech 'il-Yoyo' and Joseph Cutajar 'il-Lion': Cutajar had shot dead one of two hitmen sent to kill him; the other died in hospital May 2013 • Paul Degabriele, long targeted by bomb attempts, shot dead in Marsa: he had been questioned in connection with 2012 murder of Joseph Cutajar Jan 2014 • Loan shark Guzi Galea 'il- Gilda' killed: shot outside Marsa home, unsolved Feb 2014 • Murder of alleged bomb- maker Pietru Cassar: unsolved Apr 2014 • Attempted murder of Vince Muscat 'il-Kohhu': accused is Jonathan Pace His son is Adrian Agius (circled) one of 10 men arrested after the DCG assassination in Dec 2017 Daphne makes brief mentions of Gialanze's disappearance; two years later in the More Supermarket bust she claims he was a friend of Adrian Agius Romeo Bone was investigated over the Baldacchino murder As the hits on known criminals gathered pace, the media pushed the narrative of gangland vendettas targeting men in the drug-trafficking and oil-smuggling worlds What did Daphne write about him? Four posts, 697 words, in October 2014 in connection with the More Supermarkets news Gialanze's disappearance mentioned in five posts post-facto, related to gang killings 'Where will it all dovetail?'