Yorgen Fenech has accused police investigators of steering the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation away from former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and using Melvin Theuma’s testimony to frame him. Fenech made the claims during a tense cross-examination by prosecutor Godwin Cini, who confronted him with inconsistencies between his 2019 police statements and the … Continued

Former Labour Party communications chief Norma Saliba has been placed on Transport Malta’s payroll by the authority’s new chief executive, Leonid McKay, as the government continues to find publicly funded positions for party officials. The Shift is informed that Saliba has been recruited as a senior communications manager and will work closely with McKay, himself … Continued

Disgraced former Labour minister Konrad Mizzi instructed Yorgen Fenech to delete WhatsApp messages after the businessman’s phone was stolen, according to exchanges presented to jurors during Fenech’s cross-examination on Saturday. The messages emerged as prosecutor Godwin Cini grilled Fenech over his relationships with some of the country’s most senior political, police and regulatory officials in … Continued

Yorgen Fenech has categorically denied ordering the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, using his first testimony in his own defence to point the finger at disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri. Taking the witness stand on Friday afternoon, Fenech sought to dismantle pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma’s version of events, while … Continued

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son broke down in court on Thursday as he recounted his mother’s final days, her intense work on the Electrogas investigation and the last time he saw her before she was assassinated. Andrew Caruana Galizia, the murdered journalist’s second son, was the prosecution’s final witness in the trial of Yorgen Fenech, bringing … Continued

KM Malta Airlines is facing mounting financial difficulties, with losses already running into double-digit millions and significantly exceeding projections, according to sources familiar with the national carrier’s financial position. The Shift is informed that the airline’s deteriorating finances are behind the continued failure to publish its first audited accounts, despite the expiry of an extension … Continued

Police investigating the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, led by high-ranking officer Keith Arnaud, never considered disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri a suspect in the murder, the jury trying Yorgen Fenech was told on Wednesday. Inspector Kurt Zahra made the declaration while explaining how Schembri became embroiled in the … Continued

Valletta residents have once again called on the authorities to remove obstructions from public pavements in the capital, complaining that years of reports and enforcement notices have failed to translate into effective action. The latest complaint concerns Castille Place, where photographs sent to the authorities show public pedestrian areas obstructed by objects, including planters, with … Continued

Labour always delivers what it promises, former prime minister Joseph Muscat said. At the height of his glory on 28 March 2015, that same Muscat promised a €100 million state-of-the-art new hospital at Smart City  – S. Joannes Paulus II Hospital. Muscat pledged it would be a “medical centre of excellence for the Mediterranean” and … Continued

Malta’s highest-ranking official at the United Nations, Vanessa Frazier, has been appearing in promotional videos for a private gym company in Malta, raising questions over the compatibility of commercial endorsements with her senior diplomatic position and strict UN ethics rules. Frazier, currently an Under-Secretary-General serving as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed … Continued

A dramatic confrontation between pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma and convicted murderer George Degiorgio brought Thursday’s sitting in the trial of Yorgen Fenech to an explosive end, with the two men trading accusations of lying over the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Degiorgio, who is serving a 40-year prison sentence after admitting his role in … Continued

Pardoned murder middleman Melvin Theuma admitted he had lied about the involvement of former chief of staff Keith Schembri in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and had also bluffed about obtaining information directly from then-Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar. The admissions came during a combative day of cross-examination in Yorgen Fenech’s murder trial, as defence lawyer Giannella … Continued

Melvin Theuma concluded his testimony in the trial of Yorgen Fenech on Tuesday, ending several days of evidence in which the pardoned middleman took jurors through secret recordings, phone calls and messages concerning the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The prosecution formally declared that it had no further questions for Theuma shortly before the … Continued

Driving in Gozo is becoming increasingly risky, with the latest official figures showing a sharp rise in road accidents involving injuries and an even steeper increase in the number of casualties. Figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that 56 injury accidents were recorded in Gozo between April and June, compared with just … Continued

Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera allegedly told a neighbour that the Degiorgio brothers would eventually be granted bail while they were awaiting trial over the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, according to evidence given by pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma. The claim emerged on Monday during Yorgen Fenech’s trial, as prosecutors continued playing secretly recorded conversations between … Continued

Melvin Theuma’s testimony in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech has continued to lay bare an extraordinary web in which alleged criminals, businessmen, political power and senior police figures appear to have operated in close proximity, with information flowing between them while those involved reassured each other that they were effectively untouchable. What emerged … Continued

Melvin Theuma told the jury hearing Yorgen Fenech’s trial by jury that he began secretly recording the businessman because he feared he would ultimately be betrayed, killed or imprisoned. Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, said he felt he needed proof of his dealings with Fenech because of the … Continued

The engagement contract of former Labour deputy leader and retired judge Toni Abela, whose appointment as Standards Commissioner for the Judiciary is estimated to cost taxpayers around €105,000 a year, cannot be obtained through Malta’s Freedom of Information Act after the newly appointed Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Reno Borg, ruled that the Office of … Continued

Former chief of staff Keith Schembri’s emphatic denial that he ever passed documents to Yorgen Fenech, while under arrest, came under direct challenge on Thursday after the businessman’s longtime doctor, Adrian Vella, told jurors that Schembri personally instructed him to collect four documents from his home and deliver them to the accused. The testimony strikes … Continued

A private WhatsApp group recovered from Yorgen Fenech’s mobile phone and titled ‘No Valletta, No Party’ has emerged as the latest piece of electronic evidence in the businessman’s trial by jury, exposing the close personal relationships he maintained with some of Malta’s most senior public officials pf the Labour administration. Police Financial Crimes Inspector Brian … Continued

The Building and Construction Authority has failed to implement almost every recommendation made by the National Audit Office over weaknesses in the enforcement of mandatory Energy Performance Certificates, with auditors finding that long-standing shortcomings remain unresolved years after they were first flagged. A new NAO follow-up audit gives the government a zero per cent implementation … Continued

Malta’s economy has almost doubled in size over the past decade, but the country has simultaneously suffered a “significant deterioration” in governance indicators, according to international credit rating agency Fitch. In its latest assessment of Malta, published yesterday, Fitch confirmed the country’s long-term sovereign credit rating at A+ with a Stable Outlook, citing strong economic … Continued

Yorgen Fenech has told jurors that former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri “played” him in the days leading up to his arrest, as prosecutors confronted the businessman over hundreds of thousands of euros passed to murder middleman Melvin Theuma and confidential information leaked from the murder investigation. Fenech, accused of complicity in the 2017 … Continued

The murder trial of Yorgen Fenech hangs in the balance after his lawyers formally asked the court to discharge the jury and dissolve proceedings over jurors’ access to hundreds of media headlines through tablets supplied to them during the trial. Judge Edwina Grima is expected to deliver a decision on the request on Friday afternoon … Continued

Malta’s Permanent Commission Against Corruption (PCAC) did not refer a single case for prosecution after finding no corrupt practices, despite corruption continuing to be perceived as widespread and millions of taxpayers’ euros being spent across sectors considered at high risk. The stark assessment is contained in the European Commission’s latest Rule of Law Report on … Continued

Police investigating the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia waited seven days after arresting former chief of staff Keith Schembri before searching his office at the Office of the Prime Minister, jurors in the Yorgen Fenech murder trial heard on Wednesday. Under cross-examination, Inspector Kurt Zahra confirmed that Schembri’s Castille office was not immediately searched or … Continued

Merkanti Holding plc bondholders have been left waiting for their interest payment after the company failed to settle the amount when it fell due and is now scrambling to secure bridge financing against the proceeds of an asset sale. The development raises fresh questions about the financial health of the Malta-listed company and the regulatory … Continued

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat knew that his chief of staff Keith Schembri wanted Daphne Caruana Galizia killed, Yorgen Fenech claimed during his 2019 police interrogation, footage of which was played to jurors on Tuesday. Fenech claimed Muscat was one of three people who “100%” knew about Schembri’s alleged involvement, alongside businessman Johann Cremona and … Continued

The developers behind the illegal Ta’ Xbiex Marina ‘capitainerie’ are pursuing a new planning route to sanction the structure despite a Court of Appeal judgment revoking its permit, adopting the same type of manoeuvre recently used by developer Joseph Portelli over his illegal penthouses and pools in Sannat. Planning Authority sources told The Shift that … Continued

Malta has the slowest justice system in the European Union for serious criminal cases, with proceedings taking an average of almost 11 years to conclude, according to the European Commission’s latest Rule of Law Report. The report warns that the country’s courts remain plagued by excessive delays despite years of promised reforms. Brussels concluded that … Continued

Pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma has admitted that claims he made about former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar being paid thousands of euros were untrue, as defence lawyers continued a fierce cross-examination aimed at undermining his credibility in the Yorgen Fenech murder trial. During another tense sitting, defence lawyer Gianella de Marco confronted Theuma with his own … Continued

Melvin Theuma admitted in court that he gave money to a former assistant police commissioner who was also providing him with sensitive information about the police investigation into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder. Under cross-examination on Wednesday, the self-confessed middleman in the assassination told jurors that he had developed a friendship with former Assistant Police Commissioner … Continued

A supposedly temporary office rental by the Agriculture Ministry has evolved into a years-long arrangement involving repeated direct orders and nearly €800,000 in expenditure, following the government’s failure to complete the refurbishment of its own offices. An audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that Anton Refalo’s Ministry committed a series of procurement and … Continued

The government’s decision to earmark almost €1 million in taxpayer funds for a proposed Bruno Mars concert has descended into confusion after it emerged that no contract exists with the international superstar or his representatives, casting serious doubt over whether the concert will ever take place. Multiple sources told The Shift that the highly anticipated … Continued

The world’s largest auditing and accounting firms, all represented in Malta, are actively designing and marketing tax structures that allow major US corporations to shift profits to Malta and reduce their tax bills, according to an investigation by The New York Times. KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and EY – collectively known as the Big Four – … Continued

Some of Malta’s most prominent businessmen are scrambling to form consortia ahead of what is expected to become a lucrative public concession, with the government preparing to issue a tender for the Manoel Island yacht marina by the end of the year. Maritime industry sources told The Shift that leading figures in the construction, yachting … Continued

Melvin Theuma, the self-confessed middleman who linked Yorgen Fenech to the men who murdered Daphne Caruana Galizia, took the witness stand on Friday – a key witness in Fenech’s trial by jury. Theuma, whose presidential pardon in 2019 unlocked the murder investigation, began his testimony with an apology to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family before recounting how … Continued

Adrian Vella, the longtime doctor and confidant of both Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri, told jurors on Thursday that he was in daily contact with the former prime minister’s chief of staff in the days leading up to the businessman’s arrest, insisting that their close relationship explains why Schembri was constantly calling him. Facing a … Continued

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is continuing to be transformed into what officials describe as a refuge for Planning Minister Jonathan Attard’s political associates and canvassers, with another politically connected official now being ‘parked’ at the authority despite uncertainty over what role he is expected to perform. The latest addition is Ronnie Vella, a … Continued

Hundreds of politically appointed chairpersons and board members across government entities are set to receive significant increases in their annual remuneration under a new Cabinet Office framework that overhauls the classification and payment structure of government-appointed boards and committees. The new manual, approved by the Cabinet Office and issued in July, replaces rules that had … Continued

Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, leaked sensitive Europol intelligence about the investigation into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and an unpublished court decree concerning 17 Black to Yorgen Fenech, according to testimony during the businessman’s murder trial. Fenech made the claims on Monday as prosecutor Godwin Cini continued cross-examining him … Continued

Corinthia is seeking between €80 and €90 million for its Ħal Ferħ property just months after securing a government permit to turn the former public land into a luxury hotel and residential complex, The Shift is informed. Despite obtaining Planning Authority approval for its long-promised Oasis project earlier this year, The Shift is informed that … Continued

Malta’s national tourism brand has become the sponsor of an amateur-league Italian football club recently acquired by Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli, marking a striking change from VisitMalta’s multi-million-euro association with global football giant Manchester United. VisitMalta branding will feature on the shirts of SPAL following a ‘secret’ sponsorship agreement announced in Ferrara, Italy, this … Continued

Former Assistant Police Commissioner Mario Tonna, who was named in court last week as having received money from Melvin Theuma and of providing him with sensitive police information, has been on the government payroll for years in a senior position overseeing the governance of voluntary organisations. The Shift is informed that Tonna is employed as … Continued

One of the lead investigators in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case admitted accessing Facebook while still giving evidence in Yorgen Fenech’s trial, despite explicit instructions from the Judge to avoid media coverage and communication about the proceedings. Inspector Kurt Zahra made the admission on Thursday after the defence questioned how he knew it had … Continued

The Gozo Ministry handed the same Gozitan folklore NGO nine direct orders in just six months, continuing its practice of repeatedly engaging the organisation without completing a competitive procurement process. According to the ministry’s latest list of direct contracts, published in the Government Gazette, Tal-Fuklar Folk Group received nine separate direct orders worth a combined … Continued

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s 2019 birthday party at the official Girgenti residence has resurfaced during Yorgen Fenech’s murder trial, as jurors heard the businessman’s claims about a private conversation he said he had with Muscat during the event. The claims emerged from recordings of Fenech’s police interrogation following his arrest in November 2019, which … Continued

Former Sliema mayor Nicholas ‘Nikki’ Dimech has been placed under general perpetual interdiction by the Criminal Court of Appeal following his conviction for corruption and money laundering, while his warrant to practise as an auditor remains listed on the Accountancy Board’s official register. A notice published in the Government Gazette confirms that Judge Natasha Galea … Continued

Few things are more infuriating than watching the public (mal)administration eventually do what it should have done from the outset,but only after citizens have endured months of uncertainty, anxiety and unnecessary hassle. The Commissioner for Education’s closure of recent investigations provides a textbook example. One began when the mother of a 15-year-old boy attending Guardian … Continued

Former Assistant Police Commissioner Mario Tonna, named in court this week as a senior police officer who received money from Melvin Theuma as well as providing him with sensitive information, had his stalled police career resurrected following Labour’s return to power in 2013. Tonna’s trajectory through the police force is back under scrutiny following explosive … Continued

Four bidders, including mega-developers Carlo Stivala and Anthony Camilleri, known as Tal-Franciz, are battling to acquire the long-abandoned St Philip’s Hospital in Santa Venera, with the Commercial Court ordering the Official Receiver to take responsibility for choosing the preferred bidder. In a decree delivered on Wednesday, Judge Ian Spiteri Bailey declined a request from the … Continued

Monique Mizzi, the 27-year-old partner and business associate of criminally-charged car dealer Christian Borg, has had the freezing order against her and her company lifted following a €1 million administrative penalty agreed with the tax authorities. A new notice published in the Government Gazette shows that Magistrate Leonard Caruana, through a decree issued on 3 … Continued

Melvin Theuma told jurors that Yorgen Fenech was given a new “clean” mobile phone through Keith Schembri’s secretary as scrutiny of the businessman intensified, saying the device was “probably” supplied by the former prime minister’s chief of staff. The evidence emerged on Tuesday as Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana … Continued

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was repeatedly mentioned as a source of sensitive information reaching Yorgen Fenech as investigators closed in on those involved in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, jurors heard on Monday afternoon. The afternoon session of Fenech’s trial was characterised almost entirely by secret recordings … Continued

Former Transport Malta CEO Kurt Farrugia has been handed another government appointment, with The Shift learning that he has now been made chairman of the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF), in addition to his new job as CEO of Residency Malta. The latest appointment means Farrugia now occupies two taxpayer-funded posts, just weeks after … Continued

The government is creating a new Maltese Consulate-General in Sicily and has chosen 70-year-old former Speaker of the House Anġlu Farrugia as its first Head, in what government sources described to The Shift as a move aimed at appeasing the veteran Labour politician after his removal from one of the country’s highest constitutional offices. Foreign … Continued

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s catastrophic failure has been tasted by practically every single person in the country. Malta experienced the worst, most widespread, most prolonged power cuts in living memory. The misery and disruption can be traced to one person. Abela drastically cut investment in the power grid, the National Audit Office confirmed. In 2021, … Continued

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) quietly reversed years of opposition to the controversial Buskett Forest Hotel redevelopment just five days before last May’s general elections, clearing the way for the Planning Authority to approve the project. Documents seen by The Shift show that ERA signed off on the project on 25 May 2026, only … Continued

A Maltese man at the centre of the mysterious €750,000 cash seizure off the Sicilian coast has been arrested by the Maltese police after returning from Italy, with investigators in both countries intensifying efforts to uncover the origin of the money and whether it was linked to drug trafficking. The Shift has learned that Jeffrey … Continued

The Planning Authority is poised to approve the demolition of the long-abandoned Buskett Forest Hotel and its replacement with a large old people’s home, ending almost a decade of planning battles, repeated redesigns and sustained opposition from environmental and heritage authorities. A final case officer’s report recommends that the controversial application be approved, concluding that … Continued