Yorgen Fenech is suspect in Daphne murder

Yorgen Fenech, owner of 17 Black and part owner of the Electrogas Consortium and CEO of the Tumas Fenech Group, is a suspect in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

Yorgen Fenech was identified following last week’s arrest of the alleged middleman in the conspiracy to kill the journalist who first reported on the bribery scheme between Yorgen Fenech and the prime minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and the minister responsible for energy at the time Konrad Mizzi.

Yorgen Fenech’s group also operates the Portomaso Casino where Alfred Degiorgio, one of the three already facing trial for the murder, gambled profusely recovering an unlikely ratio of the money he’s supposed to have gambled. For that Alfred Degiorgio is facing separate charges of money laundering.

Yorgen Fenech is reported to have spent a lot of time out of Malta over the past year as suspicions about his possible connection to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia increased.

Responding to questions by Carlo Bonini, John Sweeney and myself ahead of the publication of our book Murder on the Malta Express, lawyers for Yorgen Fenech said any implications arising from questions about Alfred Degiorgio’s inexplicable luck when gambling at Yorgen Fenech’s casino did not deserve a reply.

Over the past several months however Yorgen Fenech was largely relieved of his duties in the day to day running of the Tumas Fenech Group replaced mostly by his uncle Ray Fenech in the conduct of operations.

This website is also informed that the Tumas Group was recently visited by the Hilton International Group to discuss concerns over the reputational harm this case can have on the Hilton brand. The Tumas Group own Hilton Malta. Questions put to Hilton International by this website two days ago remain unanswered.

This morning Lovin Malta was first to report that the armed forced intercepted a Riva blue-hull boat on its way out of Malta believed to be Yorgen Fenech’s. The authorities have not yet confirmed whether Yorgen Fenech was on board his boat Gio and seeking to abscond. However, there is a heavy police presence in the Portomaso area.

Yesterday the prime minister said he took personal responsibility without reference to his cabinet colleagues for promising alleged middleman Melvyn Theuma immunity from prosecution should he help convict the mastermind in this crime.

Melvyn Theuma’s activities include the operation of a white taxi service. White taxis are permitted to deliver their customers to five-star hotels but are not permitted to pick up passengers from five-star hotels unless the taxi driver or operator has a direct business relationship with the hotel. Melvyn Theuma is reported by sources to have been authorised to take business from the Hilton Hotel.

The police have known of the possible involvement of Melvyn Theuma since April 2018 when Vincent Muscat, one of the three charged with Daphne’s murder, named him to the police as the person he knows hired him and the other two alleged assassins to commit the crime.

Theuma appears to have been expecting his arrest since December 2017 when the Degiorgio brothers and Vincent Muscat were first detained. He is believed to have written his will and testament the day after their arrest on 6 December.

The police moved on Melvyn Theuma after reports in the press, particularly on the Times of Malta, identified a “businessman” as a suspect in this crime.

Yorgen Fenech is that businessman. Yorgen Fenech was outed as the owner of 17 Black, the secret Dubai company that Daphne Caruana Galizia said she was aware of in February 2017.

Daphne Project reporters showed in April 2018 that Yorgen Fenech’s 17 Black and a company called Macbridge, the owner of which remains unknown, undertook to pay millions of euro to Hearnville and Tillgate, Panama companies owned by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi and first revealed by Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Before her killing Daphne Caruana Galizia received a download of hundreds of thousands of emails belonging to Electrogas.