Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1297549
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 OCTOBER 2020 DAPHNE, THREE YEARS ON RAISA GALEA IN a few decades, historians might refer to the arrest of Yorgen Fenech as a piv- otal moment for independent Malta: for the very first time, a prime suspect in a political murder had been identified and brought to trial. This event was of para- mount significance as it shed light on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia after two years of delayed investigations. The day of the arrest, November 20, 2019, also marked the beginning of a new era. The murder trial of the for- mer tycoon set a decisive precedent: no one – no matter how powerful and well-connected – can be certain of be- ing above the law. The feverish last six weeks of 2019 will certainly remain imprinted in collec- tive memory: amid a continuous stream of appalling revelations, the once-un- shakeable authority of Joseph Mus- cat's administration was challenged by thousands of protesters and began to fall apart like a house of cards. In the past eleven months, we witnessed high profile resignations and arrests which seemed inconceivable only a year ago. First came the long-awaited resig- nations of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, followed by Joseph Muscat leaving his seat of power. Then, in June, the Labour Party expelled Mizzi due to his ties to the Panama Papers and Yorgen Fenech's company 17 Black. Despite Robert Abela's insistence that Joseph Muscat is not "equally culpable", the former Prime Minister has now re- signed from Parliament, proving he is not Invictus. Schembri, the previously all-powerful Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, was arrested in connection with a passport sales kickback probe. How has it become possible that the previously invincible rich and powerful are finally being held to account? Does this reflect institutional change or is it just aimed at patching up Malta's inter- national reputation? 'We can get rid of her easily' Following Fenech's arrest, one of the most discussed topics among the crowd of protesters outside Parliament and Castille was the motive of the crime. Although the journalist had hinted at Fenech's company 17 Black in a cryptic post dating back to February 2017, this did not appear 'threatening enough' to have triggered her assassination. But the Dubai company was not her only instance of reporting on Fenech's fraudulent deals. In May 2017, she high- lighted financial trouble at ElectroGas. The journalist wrote that the company was "not paying creditors or even sal- aries to employees." The government secretly extended a €360 million state loan guarantee to the new power station right before the snap general election in 2017. Revelations of financial trouble at the energy consortium, in which Fenech personally held 8 per cent of the Mal- tese share, may have contributed to his urge to silence Caruana Galizia. Howev- er, even this can hardly be the full story. The compilation of evidence against Fenech and the public inquiry both laid bare the shocking extent of corruption and impunity within the police and ju- diciary. The trial hearings were also a demonstration of Malta's toxic nexus of political and corporate power. Al- though the investigations have not yet concluded whether or not the former high-profile officials were part of the murder plot, it has emerged that they and other state appointees were actively involved in the cover-up. By his own admission, former security official at the Office of the Prime Minis- ter Kenneth Camilleri met suspect mid- dleman and state witness Melvin Theu- ma on four occasions. "Kenneth from Castille", Theuma claimed, had passed a message that the hitmen were to re- ceive "one million each after getting bail." Theuma also alleged that former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cuta- jar tipped him off on being a suspect in both a money laundering probe and the murder of Caruana Galizia. The suspect mastermind and middle- man seem to have planned the crime in cold blood, expecting not to be identi- fied. "Aren't these like the Maltese po- lice? Don't worry", Fenech notoriously told Theuma in response to the latter's concerns over the FBI getting on board with the investigations. Although Fenech's own testimonies do not equate to facts and still need to be verified, some of his statements are already worth paying attention to. Fenech claimed under oath that Keith Schembri used to constantly feed him key details of the investigations, ob- tained through his "close relationship" with leading prosecutor Keith Arnaud. Allegedly, Schembri even informed the former tycoon about his phone be- ing tapped. Considering that, in 2019, Fenech listed Joseph Muscat's former Chief of Staff as his friend while facing cocaine possession charges in the U.S., all these allegations sound highly plau- sible. According to the main suspect, the 'true masterminds' of the Caruana Gal- izia murder are "running around out- side". Fenech also stated that Joseph Muscat was one of three people who knew about his involvement in the as- sasination. The most outrageous claim that has emerged so far, however, was of Keith Schembri being the one wish- ing to kill the journalist because she was "trouble". If we are to trust Fenech's testimonies, let's pause and consider: in what way was Daphne Caruana Galizia "trouble" to the governing clique? Did she threat- en their political power? Did the blog posts in which she exposed Schembri's and Mizzi's Panama companies kick- start investigations against them or lead to mass protests? Did the Egrant scan- dal affect the results of the snap general election? No, none of this. It seems that she simply annoyed them. The intention to murder the journal- ist, Fenech testified, dated back to the pre-Panama Papers years, when Schem- bri met Fenech "almost every day" to seek a way to eliminate Caruana Galizia. The plan began to substantiate in 2016. One particular phrase, dropped by the accused, best characterises his state of mind and his motives: "we can get rid of her easily". Fenech mentioned the plan – which carried a price tag of €120,000 – to Schembri, and allegedly got the lat- ter's approval. "Mexxi, mexxi, mexxi", the right hand man of Joseph Muscat purportedly responded to the former tycoon's suggestion. In other words, the gang assassinated the journalist not due to a threat posed to their power by her revelations, but simply because they were certain of get- ting away with it. They fully relied on the inaction of their loyal appointees, convinced of their financial power as well as their influence over police inves- tigations and the judiciary as a guaran- tee against prosecution. They believed they could do anything at all without ever facing justice. Thankfully, they were wrong. Tragically, this became clear only after the deed. Malta, before and after Yorgen Fenech's arrest: institutional murder cover-up and struggle for democracy The deception that bowing to crooks in power guarantees our safety