Degiorgios claim cash for Daphne murder had to be collected from government office

The brothers accused of assassinating the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia have claimed the accusations against them, based on evidence from admissions from co-accused Vincent Muscat, are all “lies”.

George and Alfred Degiorgio, sentenced to imprisonment for 40 years in November 2022 after pleading guilty to the murder at the beginning of their trial by jury, are demanding that their trial by jury be held again.

In an affidavit signed by their lawyer, the two brothers, known respectively as ‘il-Fulu’ and ‘iċ-Ċiniż’, accused Muscat ‘il-Koħħu’ of having concocted a “story full of colour, to lie about everything to do with our alleged involvement. We never received any cash from Yorgen Fenech, for no reason, now in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia... we did not even know this person [Fenech] existed before the arrests started.”

The Degiorgios stated that it was middleman Melvin Theuma, who has been granted a pardon to turn State’s evidence against the Tumas magnate and suspected mastermind Yorgen Fenech, who spoke to his friends of his role in the Caruana Galizia assassination. “We know this from people… from high-ranked police officers at the Depot [that Theuma] was namedropping people who were not being investigated, but never Yorgen Fenech.”

The Degiorgios said that through Theuma’s “story”, he was able to obtain a presidential pardon on more than one case. “He was probably asked to do just that… while anything we said that was of importance, of relevance, or truthful on some very hot cases, saw the authorities taking criminal steps against us.”

The brothers said that despite their admissions, Theuma’s and Muscat’s versions to the police do not match up. “We declare that Theuma never mentioned to us Yorgen Fenech, but always someone prominent in the government with an office in Valletta. We never heard of Fenech at the time, and the money paid to us had to be collected from a prominent office of the government in Valletta, as told to us by Theuma.”

Koħħu implicates Chris Cardona in aborted 2015 plot to kill Caruana Galizia

The Degiorgios said they had passed on information on car bombs and other homicides, the involvement of politicians, “amongst them former ministers Carmelo Abela and Chris Cardona just as when these gave instructions on the HSBC head office heist, and how certain police corps members and even lawyers in important positions are involved.”

They said they now wanted to be given the chance to be heard on the information they had to impart on these crimes.

The Degiorgio brothers have previously accused former Labour minister Chris Cardona and Carmelo Abela as accomplices in major crimes and the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a letter to European Commissioner for justice in Brussels, Didier Reynders, protesting the refusal of a presidential pardon in return for information on major crimes, by the Maltese Cabinet, whom they accuse of a conflict of interest. In their letter, they detailed the involvement of former PL deputy leader Chris Cardona and current minister Carmelo Abela, in serious heists and a plot to kill Caruana Galizia.

Muscat has also told a court that Cardona was to be called upon to help the hitmen planning Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder. He described Alfred Degiorgio as a close friend of Cardona, who would meet him for information on the journalist. Muscat pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a plea bargain agreement.

Corinne Vella, the sister of Daphne Caruana Galizia, pointed out that Yorgen Fenech asked for a presidential pardon in relation to the murder. "During the compilation of evidence, it was shown that Yorgen Fenech was passing on money to the Degiorgio family via self-confessed middleman, Melvin Theuma. Theuma testified under oath that he never mentioned Fenech’s name to the Degiorgios.”