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Middleman Tells Malta Court of Plot to Kill Reporter

Reuters

   VALLETTA, MALTA - The self-confessed middleman in the murder of a
   journalist told a court on Wednesday a wealthy Maltese businessman was
   the brains behind the killing but also implicated people tied to
   government in the growing scandal.

   Melvin Theuma received immunity from prosecution last week for
   information that would lead to the conviction of alleged plot leader
   and multi-millionaire entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech.

   However, his detailed court deposition raised fresh questions over the
   inner circle of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, with Theuma linking
   apparent attempts at a cover-up of the 2017 murder to figures inside
   government headquarters.

   Fenech has been charged with complicity over the killing of
   anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by a car bomb.

   He has denied the accusations and blamed former government chief of
   staff Keith Schembri and other senior officials.

   Schembri was arrested last month but later released. He has denied
   involvement in the murder which has highlighted allegations of rampant
   corruption in Malta's overlapping worlds of politics and business.

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