A jury in Malta has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the 2017 car bombing that killed investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech, one of the country's wealthiest men, had been accused of ordering and funding the murder, but was found not guilty of complicity and criminal conspiracy in an 8-1 verdict on Wednesday. The killing had shocked Europe, triggered mass protests that brought down a prime minister, and exposed deep-rooted impunity within Maltese institutions, making the trial's outcome a significant moment for accountability in the case.

Caruana Galizia, 53, died when a bomb detonated in her car near her home on 16 October 2017, after years spent reporting on alleged corruption linked to figures around then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, including offshore holdings exposed by the Panama Papers. Fenech, tied to a contested government power station contract, was arrested in 2019 while attempting to leave Malta by yacht, sparking unrest that led to Muscat's resignation; he was the last of roughly six people charged over the plot to face trial. His lawyer said the verdict reflected jurors' doubts about a key witness who received a presidential pardon for testifying, while Caruana Galizia's family said the ruling denied her "the justice she deserves" and called for institutional reform, as opposition supporters staged a protest march outside parliament.