Daphne Caruana Galizia
Sources
Malta’s investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose work focused on corruption and money-laundering amongst Maltese politicians and public officials, was assassinated by a car bomb close to her home on 16 October 2017. In 2016 and 2017, she revealed controversially sensitive information and allegations relating to the Panama Papers Revelations and other affairs allegedly concerning Maltese and international companies. A top Maltese businessman has been accused of being the mastermind behind her murder and is currently on trial. Other businessmen deny any knowledge of the murder or its perpetrators. Before her death, Ms Caruana Galizia has been the subject of a long lasting smear campaign and threats, fomented by a general atmosphere of impunity, according to official international reports. At the time of her death, Ms Caruana Galizia faced 47 criminal libel cases, filed by some actors implicated in her reporting on corruption. These include the SLAPPs brought by DB Group and Pilatus Bank.