Yorgen Fenech has been rearrested and is again facing questioning as part of the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination investigation. 

Sources said Mr Fenech was back at the police headquarters in Floriana at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon. In a statement, the police said that he was back in custody.  

The former Tumas Group CEO was released on police bail on Saturday following his hospitalisation after taking ill in police custody. 

His rearrest sets off another 48-hour window during which he can either be charged or released yet again on police bail. 

This is the third time he has been arrested in the space of five days. 

Mr Fenech was first taken into police custody early on Wednesday morning after being prevented from leaving Malta on his luxury yacht. 

He was arrested again on Friday having been released on police bail without charge. 

His arrest came a day after Times of Malta confirmed a presidential pardon was on the table for a “middleman” who claims to have intimate knowledge of the October 2017 bomb plot. 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said that investigators need more time to question Mr Fenech before arraigning him, and that releasing him and then hauling him back into custody gives them the opportunity to do so. 

According to local laws, police lose the right to interrogate a suspect the moment they opt to press charges.

Mr Fenech has asked for a presidential pardon to reveal what he knows about the assassination. 

His request has reached the prime minister, who will seek the advice of the Attorney General and the police before considering the potential ramifications of acceding to it. 

Economy minister Chris Cardona was also called in for questioning on Saturday in relation to the murder.