The police are investigating the business dealings of John Camilleri, the man killed by a powerful car bomb in Buġibba on Monday morning.
Mr Camilleri, known as Giovann, was involved in a number of companies that dealt in property.
Research by Times of Malta shows that one of the companies, Dove Trading Ltd, had €800,000 worth of property for resale and cash reserves of €2.3 million.
It also owned rental property worth €137,000.
The company made a profit of €2.4 million last year, according to the accounts filed with the Malta Financial Services Authority.
Dove Trading is, in turn, the sole shareholder of Kings Properties and owns a 55 per cent stake in Laguna Cruises.
Mr Camilleri had a legal dispute with the heirs of his brother, Edgar, over the dissolution of the shareholding in Soap & Sponge Ltd, a bathroom supplier.
The brothers had been the sole shareholders of the company before they split
The brothers had been the sole shareholders of the company before they split. Edgar died in February 2005, but in a judicial protest filed two years later, Soap & Sponge called on his heirs to liquidate their shareholding.
The company also accused Edgar Camilleri of failing to pay bills while he was responsible for its administration.
The protest also claimed that Edgar’s wife, Maria, had hidden a number of documents that belonged to the company.
Soap & Sponge has not yet been struck off the MFSA’s registry of companies despite failing to submit any returns since 2001, when the brothers split.
Mr Camilleri’s other interest is in Solair Developments, which runs the Solair Holiday Complex in St Paul’s Bay, not far from where the car bomb was detonated.
According to company records, Mr Camilleri and other family members indicated last year their desire to split the business and go their separate ways.
It remains unclear at this stage whether any of Mr Camilleri’s legitimate businesses could have a bearing on the motive for his murder.
Sources said the device was one of the most powerful car bombs seen in recent years, clearly intended to kill. The car’s top was blown off and ended up on the roof of an apartment block.
Investigators will be trying to trace Mr Camilleri’s movements and phone calls in the days before he was killed. They have collected CCTV footage from shops in St Paul’s Bay to try and track his vehicle’s movements.
Although Mr Camilleri’s registered address is a farmhouse in Naxxar, he also used a flat in Triq il-Villeġġjatura, St Paul’s Bay. The flat is the registered address for his companies.
Investigations are expected to be difficult, according to police historian Eddie Attard. “Only a handful of bomb attacks have been solved,” he said.
The explosion on Monday morning was the third such incident this year.
The first car bomb, in January, killed Martin Cachia as he was driving on the Marsascala by-pass. Last month, Josef Cassar lost both his legs after a bomb blew up his van on Aldo Moro Road, Marsa.
“These types of crimes are difficult to solve, which is why the police require more intelligence about the criminal underworld,” Mr Attard said.