Yorgen Fenech
Yorgen Fenech is a Maltese businessman whose main interests are casinos and hotels in Malta, and a suspect facing criminal charges in multiple proceedings for murder, corruption, money laundering, and the illicit purchase of firearms and poison. He was head of the Tumas Group and a director of the Maltese-Azerbaijan-German company ElectroGas Malta.
Suspected of bribing members of the Maltese government, in November 2019 Fenech was arrested as a suspect in the murder of the investigative-journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He is a key figure in the 2019 Malta political crisis and 2019 protests in Malta. Fenech stands charged with murder and membership of a criminal group, and is also facing criminal proceedings relating to corruption and money laundering together with the former head of the Malta Police Force anti-money laundering unit; money laundering in connection with Glimmer Ltd of which he is a co-owner; the purchase of grenades, pistols, and poison from the dark web; and misappropriation in connection with a phantom government job given to self-confessed murder middleman, Melvin Theuma. Fenech, along with fellow ElectroGas owner Paul Apap Bologna, is also facing criminal charges over payments from his secret offshore company, 17 Black, via secret offshore financial structures to government officials identified in the Panama Papers. The charges include corruption, money laundering, trading in influence, and criminal association. Encrypted messages between Ray Aquilina, the former head of the Malta Police Force's anti-money laundering unit, and Fenech, recovered from Fenech's phone, indicated a relationship between the two at a time when the police were meant to be investigating Fenech's Dubai company 17 Black. All concerned have pleaded not guilty to all pending charges.
Business
Fenech is a prominent criminal suspect. He was identified in 2018 as being the owner of the Ajman-registered company 17 Black. The company was listed in the Panama Papers and investigative journalist Caruana Galizia had written about 17 Black eight months before her death, alleging the company had links to Joseph Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schembri and to former energy minister Konrad Mizzi. Later, the research group The Daphne Project came across e-mails between 17 Black and two shell companies in Panama, belonging to Mizzi or Schembri. The emails mentioned payments of up to $2 million for unspecified services. Mizzi was then Minister of Energy in Malta, Schembri Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.Fenech was CEO of the Tumas Group and a director of energy company ElectroGas Malta; in 2019 he resigned from both positions. On 25 November 2019 Tumas Group, operators of the Malta Hilton hotel, said that allegations linking Fenech to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia were "alien to the Tumas Group's values". Group chair and shareholder, Raymond Fenech, and group shareholder Franco Fenech, uncle and brother to Yorgen Fenech, are both implicated in assisting his escape from Malta shortly before his arrest for murder.
Criminal prosecution
Assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia
On 16 October 2017, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a targeted car bomb attack close to her home, attracting widespread local and international reactions. In December 2017, three men were arrested in connection with the car bomb attack. Vince Muscat pleaded guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence and turned state witness. In October 2022, Brothers Alfred Degiorgio and George Degiorgio, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 40 years in prison.. On 10 June 2025, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were condemned to life imprisonment for supplying the bomb that was used to kill Daphne.In November 2019, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced a deal with Melvin Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the murder. Theuma was thought to be able to provide comprehensive information about the murder case and other crimes, and received a presidential pardon in exchange for information relating to the mastermind of the murder.
A day after Theuma's arrest, Fenech attempted to leave Malta on his private yacht, with the Armed Forces of Malta intercepting and arresting him as a "person of interest" in the Caruana Galizia murder enquiry. Fenech went on to offer himself as a witness. He promised information about the murder case and other offenses, in exchange for immunity. The request was not granted. On 30 November 2019, an indictment was filed against Fenech, and he was accused of complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia. Fenech pleaded not guilty.
Six days after the arrest of Fenech, Keith Schembri resigned his government post as Chief of Staff, and was subsequently questioned by the police. Schembri was later released on police bail.
Yorgen Fenech's doctor, Adrian Vella, was also arrested for questioning. Vella's name also occurred in a number of companies registered or managed via Panama. He denies serving as a secret messenger between Schembri and Fenech.
Fenech, in his court statement, accused Schembri of being the mastermind behind the Caruana Galizia murder. He also claimed Keith Schembri had promised him a presidential pardon. Fenech's request for a presidential pardon was denied and he lost a legal challenge he filed over the refused pardon. Fenech claimed Schembri tried to influence him to frame Christian Cardona for the assassination of Caruana Galizia. Fenech was denied bail more than 20 times, as the court determined that he was a flight risk. The bail decrees also cited Fenech's access to cryptocurrencies, plans to emigrate to the United States, and his attempted illicit purchase of firearms on the dark web.
On 24 January 2025, Fenech was granted bail. This decision created much controversy, with one of Caruana Galiza's sons accusing Prime Minister Robert Abela, and the Minister of Justice Jonathan Attard, to be on the side of criminals. The murder proceedings are ongoing. No trial date has yet been set.