Malta mogul arrested on yacht in journalist murder case

VALLETTA: Malta on Wednesday arrested a tycoon in connection with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the day after an alleged middleman was offered a pardon to identify the mastermind behind the killing.

Maltese national Yorgen Fenech was detained on his yacht at dawn as he tried to leave Malta, a police source told AFP, in the latest development in the long-running case that has raised questions about the rule of law in Malta. Before her 2017 murder, which sparked outrage and protests in the Mediterranean island, Caruana Galizia reported on corruption — including alleging that a company owned by Fenech was connected to high-level politicians.

The Maltese government has faced a torrent of criticism over its handling of the case, and Caruana Galizia´s son on Tuesday called for the tourism minister and the prime minister´s chief of staff to resign over alleged planned payments from Fenech´s company.