Self-confessed killer George Degiorgio has claimed he can take down others with him for the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

He was speaking in a Wondery podcast called Who Killed Daphne, hosted by Reuters’ Stephen Grey.

“It is f*****g bullshit ah... they used us... they used us,” Degiorgio says of the assassination and those behind the plot.

He claims to have been paid a deposit in 2015 by a top Maltese political figure for a separate aborted contract to kill Caruana Galizia.

“He told me what he wants to do, how much and shit like that, you know. I said ‘send the deposit, and we will start’,” Degiorgio says of the 2015 meeting with this political figure over the aborted plot. 

Degiorgio said in the interview that the asking price for the 2015 plot was €150,000.

He said the same price was named for the 2017 plot that would ultimately lead to the car bombing of the journalist outside her Bidnija home.

“That’s why I was the one to tell my brother [Alfred] €150,000. Because I was dealing before [over the 2015 plot],” Degiorgio says.

According to self-confessed murder middleman Melvin Theuma, he approached Alfred Degiorgio to murder Caruana Galizia on behalf of Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech.

Fenech, who was charged in November 2019, denies involvement in the murder.

The brothers are now seeking a plea deal over the murder, prior to formally admitting in court to the killing.

Degiorgio said he is prepared to testify against others he alleges are involved in the murder, in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence “or maybe less”.

Prosecutors are understood to have outright dismissed the demand for such a low prison term.

'It was business as usual'

While claiming to feel sorry for Caruana Galizia, Degiorgio struck an unrepentant tone during the interview.

“For me it was business. Business as usual,” he cackles at one point, also saying he would have asked for €10 million had he known who the journalist was.

He further claims the authorities have shown little interest in hearing what he has to say.

“They do not want to hear us. They do not want to hear about it. Why?”

Degiorgio, who is suspected to have got away with a string of murders over the years, even weighs in on how this reflects on the state of the rule of law in Malta.

“Do you believe this country, how f*****g corrupt it is,” he says.

He accuses the police of wanting to protect the people he is willing to implicate.

“We are not going down alone,” he warns.

Degiorgio’s other brother, Mario, was charged with money-laundering late last month over payments that are alleged to have passed between Fenech and the two imprisoned brothers, prior to the Tumas businessman’s arrest.

The final episode of the podcast is available to Wondery subscribers and will be publicly available on August 8.