Malta police chief quits over slain journalist case

VALLETTA: Malta’s chief of police resigned on Friday amid accusations he botched an investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and probes into corruption scandals.

New Prime Minister Robert Abela, who took office earlier this week, told reporters that commissioner Lawrence Cutajar had said in his resignation letter that he was stepping down "so that necessary reforms to the force could start taking place".

Cutajar, appointed to the post in 2016, has been top of the list of scalps demanded by activists seeking justice for Caruana Galizia, an investigative reporter who was killed in a 2017 car bomb explosion.

They accused him of bungling the probe into the blogger’s murder, and of failing to investigate Pilatus Bank, which was shut down in 2018 after its chairman was arrested in the United States on money-laundering charges. Caruana Galizia, who died aged 53, had accused the bank of processing corrupt payments.

Activists also wanted Cutajar gone because they said he should have done more to protect Caruana Galizia’s life.

Abela’s predecessor Joseph Muscat, who resigned on Monday amid allegations he hampered the investigation in an attempt to protect friends and allies, had refused to kick Cutajar out. Protesters also want attorney general Peter Grech fired, although Abela said he saw no reason why Grech should step down.

Abela said the cabinet would be looking into possible changes to the way the police commissioner is appointed, without going into details. Police chiefs are currently chosen by the prime minister, not parliament.

Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth -- powerful businessman Jorgen Fenech -- was charged as an accomplice after being detained on his yacht.

Fenech’s arrest in November sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri. Caruana Galizia, described as a "one-woman WikiLeaks", had accused Mizzi and Schembri of corruption.

"How they mocked us, when, a day after my mother was assassinated, we called for the resignations of the prime minister, police commissioner, and attorney general, and the investigation of Keith Schembri," her son Paul Caruana Galizia said on Twitter. "Watch them fall," he added.