Latest news with #JosephMuscat
The Journal
11-06-2025
- The Journal
Two men jailed for life for supplying bomb that killed Maltese anti-corruption journalist
TWO MEN FOUND guilty of supplying the bomb that killed Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 have been sentenced to life in prison, the reporter's family said yesterday. The journalist had written extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles in Malta and her murder shocked Europe and triggered angry protests in Malta. There were also large protests in Malta against the then-prime minister, Joseph Muscat, who resigned as prime minister in January 2020 following pressure from citizens for the truth about the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia. Caruana Galizia's sister, Corinne Vella, said the family lawyers had asked 'for the court to consider the devastating impact of Daphne's brutal murder both on our family and on society'. Following a six-week jury trial, Robert Agius, 41, and Jamie Vella, 42, were found guilty Thursday of complicity in the assassination by supplying the military-grade explosive used in the deadly car bombing near the reporter's home. 'Her assassination created a sense in society that the people behind her murder were sure of their impunity and that the institutions that are duty-bound to protect her and society had failed,' Vella said on behalf of her family. 'We hope that today's sentences will be a step towards a safer world for journalists by signalling to potential killers that there are heavy penalties to pay when a journalist is murdered', she said. The three hitmen who carried out the murder – brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio together with Vince Muscat – are already in jail after pleading guilty in separate proceedings. Advertisement Businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is accused of masterminding the murder, is still awaiting trial. Public Inquiry Caruana Galizia was an investigative reporter who had written about cronyism and sleaze within Malta's political and business elite. Her murder, at age 53, drew international outrage. A public inquiry published in 2021 found no evidence of state involvement in the killing, but found the government created a 'climate of impunity' for those who wanted to silence Caruana Galizia. Hitman Vince Muscat was the prosecution's key witness in the trial against Agius and Vella, although more than 150 people testified before the jury, including relatives of Caruana Galizia, members of the FBI and a former government minister. Muscat had also given evidence against the Degiorgio brothers, in return for a reduced sentence of 15 years for his role in the killing. The Degiorgio brothers, who pleaded guilty on the first day of their 2022 trial, were each sentenced to 40 years. Fenech, who had close ties with Joseph Muscat's government, was arrested in November 2019 aboard his yacht as he tried to sail out of Malta. He was granted bail in January. Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the murder, received a presidential pardon in 2019 and is now a state witness. - © AFP 2025
The Guardian
10-06-2025
- The Guardian
Two men jailed for life for supplying car bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison for supplying the car bomb that killed the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta eight years ago. The sentencing on Tuesday of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, reported to be members of the island's criminal underworld, marked a significant step in the long campaign to bring those charged with Caruana Galizia's murder to justice. Her death in October 2017 sparked outrage across Europe and embroiled Malta's governing party in accusations of a coverup, ultimately leading to the resignation of the prime minister Joseph Muscat. Prosecutors have brought charges against seven people, including a millionaire businessman who is still awaiting trial. Agius and Vella, who had pleaded not guilty, were sentenced after their conviction on Friday last week. Jurors returned an 8-1 verdict after a trial that lasted more than six weeks. They were found to have taken payment for supplying the device, which was hidden in a children's shoe box and planted under the seat of the journalist's car. It was detonated remotely as she drove away from her home. Under Maltese law, those serving life sentences remain in prison until death. They are not eligible for parole or any other form of early release. Prosecutors had argued on Tuesday that the punishment should send a strong message to the public, both locally and internationally. Press freedom groups across Europe have followed the case closely. 'We hope that today's sentences will be a step towards a safer world for journalists by signalling to potential killers that there are heavy penalties to pay when a journalist is murdered,' Caruana Galizia's family said in a statement. 'The car bomb attack that killed Daphne sent shock waves through Maltese society that reverberated around the world. Her assassination created a sense in society that the people behind her murder were sure of their impunity and that the institutions that were duty-bound to protect her and society had failed.' Two men accused of planting and detonating the device, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are serving 40-year jail terms after pleading guilty. A third man, Vince Muscat, who also admitted his role in the murder, is serving 15 years after turning state's evidence. Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who claims he acted as middleman, secured a presidential pardon in exchange for giving evidence and is living under police protection. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a casino and hotels group, was arrested and charged with complicity to kill Caruana Galizia in November 2019. He denies the charges. Delays in bringing the case before a jury have allowed his lawyers to successfully argue for bail, and he was released in February after pledging €50m (£42m) in cash and shares as security. Because they pleaded not guilty, Vella and Agius were the first among the accused to actually stand trial. They were arrested in 2021, based on evidence provided by Muscat. His testimony was crucial in trial, which heard from 157 witnesses, including the victim's families and members of the FBI, which had assisted local police with the investigation. The court heard that the original plan was to shoot the journalist, with Vella providing the hitmen with rifles and an AK-47. The plans were changed, however, and the killers opted for a bomb instead. It was placed in her car during the night and detonated remotely the next day, using a command sent via text message by George Degiorgio while he was cruising aboard a motor boat. Prosecutors told the court that the motive for the murder was Caruana Galizia's 'journalistic work'. In the same trial, Vella was convicted of complicity in a second, unrelated murder – the killing in 2015 of a Maltese lawyer, Carmel Chircop. Robert Agius's brother Adrian and George Degiorgio were also found guilty of complicity in the same crime.
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First Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- First Post
'Commercialisation of citizenship': Malta's ‘golden passport' is illegal, rules EU top court
Europe's highest court on Tuesday struck down Malta's controversial 'golden passport' programme, ruling that it breached EU law by allowing individuals to effectively buy citizenship through investment, according to a report read more Maltese passports are seen in this illustration taken April 29, 2025. Reuters File Europe's highest court on Tuesday struck down Malta's controversial 'golden passport' programme, ruling that it breached EU law by allowing individuals to effectively buy citizenship through investment. According to a Politico report, the European Commission had launched legal proceedings against Malta in 2022 over the scheme giving foreigners a Maltese — and therefore European Union — passport in exchange for a one-off investment of at least €600,000. In its ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union called the programme a 'commercialisation' of EU citizenship that undermined the principles of 'good faith' and 'mutual trust' among member states, added the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Though Malta suspended the scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals after the Ukraine invasion, earlier beneficiaries reportedly included sanctioned Russian oligarchs, according to media reports. Malta's government said it would comply with Tuesday's ruling and update its laws accordingly, reported Politico, citing local media. 'As always, the government of Malta respects the decisions of the courts,' Politico quoted the government as saying in a statement. 'At this moment the legal implications of this judgment are being studied in detail, so that the regulatory framework on citizenship can then be brought in line with the principles outlined in the judgment,' the statement added. The Maltese government added that past recipients of the scheme would not be affected and said the scheme had raised hundreds of millions of euros. A spokesperson for the Commission welcomed the ruling. 'European citizenship is not for sale,' Politico quoted the spokesperson as saying on Tuesday. 'We expect Malta to comply with this decision and apply it accordingly,' the spokesperson added. The spokesperson urged the abolition of all similar citizenship-by-investment schemes across the EU. While Cyprus and Bulgaria have already discontinued their golden passport programmes —Cyprus even revoking several, mostly issued to Russian nationals — the court's ruling was welcomed by NGOs as a major step toward closing loopholes in EU citizenship policies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Today's judgment confirms that member states cannot commodify EU citizenship and operate reckless golden passport programmes,' Politico quoted Transparency International CEO Maíra Martini as saying in a statement. Former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who launched the golden passport scheme in 2014, dismissed Tuesday's court ruling as politically driven. In a Facebook post, he accused European Parliament President Roberta Metsola of 'working against our country.' Muscat is currently facing prosecution in Malta over alleged corruption. With inputs from agencies
Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Times
Malta's golden passport scheme ruled illegal by European court
Malta's golden passport scheme violates European Union law by reducing the status of nationality and citizenship to a 'mere commercial transaction', according to a binding ruling by the bloc's court in Luxembourg. Malta's 'investor citizenship scheme' effectively sells passports, along with EU residency and travel rights, at the price of €600,000 after 36 months of residency or €750,000 after residing in the country for a year. The European Court of Justice ruled that Malta's scheme 'amounts to the commercialisation of the grant of nationality and, by extension, of union citizenship'. The court said in a statement: 'Malta has infringed EU law. A member state cannot grant its nationality — and indeed European citizenship — in exchange for predetermined payments or investments, as this essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction.' Malta, the EU's smallest member state, introduced its golden passport scheme in 2013 and has allowed 96 individuals to buy citizenship, including at least seven Russian oligarchs on western sanctions blacklists. The scheme has gone from generating €1 million for Malta in 2017 to a projected €25 million after a barrage of sanctions against Russia since President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The EU ruling sets a precedent for countries such as Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal that offer 'golden visas' in return for investment. Stepping into a sensitive area for national sovereignty, the EU court has decided that selling passports breaches a fundamental relationship between a state and nation, as well as undermining trust between European countries. 'Such a practice does not make it possible to establish the necessary bond of solidarity and good faith between a member state and its citizens, or to ensure mutual trust between the member states and thus constitutes a breach of the principle of sincere co-operation,' the court said. It is a landmark decision because the court's own legal adviser said last October that 'EU law does not define, much less require, the existence of' genuine bonds or links to a country 'in order to acquire or to retain nationality'. Joseph Muscat, the former Maltese prime minister who introduced the scheme, accused the EU judges of taking a 'political decision' that worked against Malta's national interests.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Malta's golden passport scheme breaks EU law, top court rules
Malta's so-called golden passport scheme that lets people become citizens through financial investment is contrary to European law, the EU's top court has EU commission took Malta to court in 2022 over the scheme, which grants foreigners a Maltese passport and thereby the right to live and work in any EU country in return for paying at least €600,000 (£509,619), buying or renting property of a certain value, and donating €10,000 to EU's Court of Justice said the scheme "amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction".Malta's government has not yet responded to the ruling, which former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called "political". He said he believed the scheme could continue with "some changes".The country risks hefty fines if it does not comply with the EU's Court of Justice said "the acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction."Malta has repeatedly insisted that it was correct in its interpretation of EU treaties, Reuters news agency 2022, it suspended the scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals in the wake of Russia's invasion and Europe's crackdown on Kremlin-linked ruling goes against a report last October from the court's Advocate General at the time, Anthony Collins. He said the commission had failed to prove that EU law requires a "genuine link" between the person and the country to grant lawful citizenship, adding it is for each member state to decide who is "to be one of their nationals and, as a consequence, who is an EU citizen".Although each EU member state determines how they grant nationality, the court said Malta's scheme "jeopardises the mutual trust" between member EU has previously called on countries to end the practice, noting that investor citizenship schemes carried "inherent" security issues, as well as risks of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.
