A businessman accused of ordering the murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has gone on trial in the Maltese capital, Valletta.

Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a property empire, was arrested in 2019 by Malta’s armed forces on a yacht in connection with the car-bomb murder.

After years of delays due to legal challenges, he faces complicity and criminal association charges and is the last of seven men to face trial over the assassination that rocked the country. Fenech denies the charges.

The 2017 murder provoked outrage from journalists, civil society groups and governments around the world. Malta’s attorney general, Victor Buttigieg, has called for a life sentence for the murder charge and between 20 and 30 years for the criminal association charge.

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s husband, three sons and two sisters were in court for the commencement of the trial. Her son Matthew Caruana Galizia worked for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists from 2014 to 2018.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/it-is-still-dangerous-to-be-a-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizias-son-reflects-on-her-life-and-legacy/

PRESS FREEDOM ‘It is still dangerous to be a journalist’: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son reflects on her life and legacy Jan 12, 2024

https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2022/10/two-brothers-convicted-of-murdering-daphne-caruana-galizia-sentenced-to-40-years-in-prison/

PRESS FREEDOM Two brothers convicted of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia, sentenced to 40 years in prison Oct 16, 2022

https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/malta-responsible-for-assassination-of-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia-inquiry-finds/

PRESS FREEDOM Malta responsible for assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, inquiry finds Jul 30, 2021

Recommended reading PRESS FREEDOM ‘It is still dangerous to be a journalist’: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son reflects on her life and legacy Jan 12, 2024 PRESS FREEDOM Two brothers convicted of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia, sentenced to 40 years in prison Oct 16, 2022 PRESS FREEDOM Malta responsible for assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, inquiry finds Jul 30, 2021

Law enforcement associations, anti-corruption advocates and a major banking group are warning that a new bill aimed at regulating the United States’ cryptocurrency industry could leave big gaps in safeguards against dirty money in digital currencies that have already become a financial vehicle for organized crime.

Known as the Clarity Act, the bill seeks to bring cryptocurrency under a single legal framework on the national level, ending years of the industry operating in gray areas. Crypto companies and President Donald Trump have heavily championed the bill. Defenders of the bill say that it fills a crucial regulatory vacuum and provides law enforcement with new tools to address crime. But critics argue it contains dangerous loopholes and prioritizes studies and pilot programs instead of holding all crypto services to stringent anti-money laundering standards.

This is largely window-dressing type regulation.

— Gary Kalman, executive director of Transparency International U.S.

In recent months, law enforcement groups including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys have sent letters to lawmakers voicing a common concern: They argue that the bill could create regulatory exemptions for certain decentralized and automated cryptocurrency services that criminals often rely on to obfuscate their fund flows.

Yesterday, four law enforcement groups representing police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors told the acting U.S. Attorney General that, despite discussions with senior officials across the Trump administration, their concern that the bill’s “broad exemptions could create gaps in oversight and accountability that sophisticated criminal actors may exploit” remains unresolved. The letter said its signatories represent more than 70,000 law enforcement professionals across the U.S.

“Criminal organizations increasingly utilize digital assets to facilitate and conceal unlawful activity, including narcotics trafficking, fraud, child exploitation, ransomware attacks, sanctions evasion, terrorism financing, organized retail crime, and other forms of transnational criminal activity,” the letter states, pointing to exemptions for some decentralized businesses. “Regulatory certainty should not come at the expense of accountability, transparency, victim protection, or public safety.”

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Key industry players disagree with these groups’ criticisms of the bill. The bill’s alleged loophole for decentralized services “does not exist,” Robin Cook, the director of U.S. Policy at the crypto giant Coinbase, told ICIJ in an interview. Cook points to a section 301 of the bill that he says will in fact bring most automated trading protocols under traditional anti-money laundering requirements.

“It is bringing new regulation at the federal level where there isn’t any today,” Cook told ICIJ. “That is not a deregulatory bill. The idea that somehow this is deregulatory is demonstrably false.”

The Coin Laundry, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 37 partner publications, found that criminals and other suspect actors commonly relied on decentralized trading protocols that can help make financial trails harder for law enforcement to trace.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/trump-administration-curbs-state-oversight-of-crypto-industry/

cryptocurrency Trump administration curbs state oversight of crypto industry May 15, 2026

https://www.icij.org/news/2025/07/landmark-cryptocurrency-legislation-passes-u-s-house-to-be-signed-into-law-by-president-trump/

CRYPTO Landmark cryptocurrency legislation passes US House, to be signed into law by President Trump Jul 18, 2025

https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cryptocurrency-exchanges-binance-okx-money-laundering-crime/

CRYPTOCURRENCY Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers Nov 17, 2025

Recommended reading cryptocurrency Trump administration curbs state oversight of crypto industry May 15, 2026 CRYPTO Landmark cryptocurrency legislation passes US House, to be signed into law by President Trump Jul 18, 2025 CRYPTOCURRENCY Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers Nov 17, 2025

Cyprus’ anti-corruption authority has found “potential acts of corruption” and “abuse of power” by former President Nicos Anastasiades during his 10 years in office, referring possible criminal charges to prosecutors for further scrutiny.

The country’s Independent Anti-Corruption Authority alleges Anastasiades may have improperly tried to influence investigations into suspected payments to political parties and politicians, intervened in a Russian oligarch’s citizenship application, and may have used his office to stymie an anti-money laundering probe involving his former law firm.

Last week, the authority announced the criminal referrals to the attorney general in a sprawling 16,000-word statement summarizing its investigation into allegations made in “Kratos Mafia,” or “Mafia State,” a 2022 book by Makarios Drousiotis, a former Anastasiades aide turned investigative journalist.

The announcement includes a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of Drousiotis’ book, following the watchdog’s two-year investigation into those allegations that fell under its purview. The authority said it issued summons and interviewed key witnesses, including Drousiotis and Anastasiades himself, who “testified for many hours, spanning more than one day.”

The referrals to the attorney general were made as part of a confidential “final report” comprising more than 3,000 pages, along with other supporting documents. The authority cautioned that every person mentioned in the report carried a presumption of innocence and that “only a court of law is competent to determine a person’s guilt.” Anastasiades has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The Independent Anti-Corruption Authority was created in 2022 under pressure from the European Union and the U.S. to address longstanding concerns about public corruption in Cyprus and its rise to become a crucial financial hub for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/cyprus-model-politics-tax-haven-russian-wealth/

EUROPE How Cyprus rose to become the beating heart of the Putin regime’s shadow financial system Nov 14, 2023

https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/cyprus-russia-eu-secrecy-tax-haven/

OVERVIEW Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies Nov 14, 2023

https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/global-investigation-tax-havens-offshore/

GLOBAL OVERVIEW Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak Oct 03, 2021

Recommended reading EUROPE How Cyprus rose to become the beating heart of the Putin regime’s shadow financial system Nov 14, 2023 OVERVIEW Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies Nov 14, 2023 GLOBAL OVERVIEW Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak Oct 03, 2021