Adrian Delia sues Lovin Malta over story reporting Yorgen Fenech claims

Adrian Delia has sued Lovin Malta after it reported claims made by Yorgen Fenech that the former Opposition leader messaged him during a debate on 17 Black.

The former Nationalist Party leader filed libel proceedings against the news portal on Wednesday morning.

Lovin Malta reported on Tuesday that in a WhatsApp exchange with a businesswoman, Fenech boasted of his political connections. In one of the messages, Fenech is reported to have claimed that during an urgent parliamentary debate on 17 Black in November 2018, Delia had messaged him with concerns over Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar’s overly emotional intervention.

Delia denied the claim and in his court filing said the article was intended to tarnish his reputation.

The urgent parliamentary debate had been called by Delia after Fenech was named as the owner of 17 Black in a Reuters investigation.

17 Black was a Dubai company named in the Panama Papers as one of two firms that had to pass on money to the Panama companies of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.

Fenech is facing murder charges for his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Meanwhile, anti-corruption group Repubblika on Tuesday said that Delia should end his political career if he had inappropriate conversations with Fenech.