The son of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Matthew, claimed on Wednesday the alleged murder mastermind, Yorgen Fenech, was funding or had funded the defence of two brothers charged with having a role in the assassination.
“He who pays the piper. The defence of the hitmen was/is funded by Yorgen Fenech, who is himself being prosecuted for complicity in the assassination,” he tweeted in reaction to a report on Wednesday revealing the contents of a letter the alleged hitmen sent to European Commissioner Didier Reynders.
George and Alfred Degiorgio told Reynders that the government had a conflict of interest in its assessment of their requests for a pardon.
The government had rejected them because it did not want to hear the information they had on the alleged involvement of former economy minister Chris Cardona in the assassination and the involvement of OPM Minister Carmelo Abela in “serious crimes”.
The state can never fairly assess the brothers’ requests, their lawyer, William Cuschieri, said in the letter.
Both Cardona and Abela have denied involvement in any of the criminal cases mentioned.
Cuschieri did not reply to a request for comment on Matthew Caruana Galizia’s claim that he was being paid or had been paid by Fenech.
A spokesman for Reynders confirmed the letter had been received and said a reply would be sent.
Opposition leader Bernard Grech on Wednesday insisted that the prime minister should remove Abela from the cabinet pending police investigations into allegations he was involved in the attempted HSBC heist in 2010.
The Degiorgio brothers claim to have direct information on Abela’s alleged involvement in planning the heist and supplying the criminals with confidential information and equipment essential to the crime.
“Prime Minister Robert Abela cannot allow Malta’s reputation to continue taking one hit after another with his minister implicated in a very serious crime,” Grech said.
“This does not only cast a dark shadow on the minister and Robert Abela but it also casts a shadow on our country.”