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A senior aide to former Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat late on Saturday was charged with money laundering, corruption and fraud.
Keith Schembri, Muscat’s former chief of staff, appeared in court alongside 11 others charged with similar offenses. He pleaded not guilty but was denied bail.
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in 2017, had accused him of being part of widespread corruption within Muscat’s inner circle.
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, set up after her death, welcomed the news and said in a statement that Schembri’s arraignment had been “overdue.” It added: “Prosecuting Schembri today brings us a step closer to a Malta where no one is above the law. It is the country Daphne fought for and the one we all deserve.”
Schembri resigned from his position in November 2019 after his name was mentioned by Yorgen Fenech, a businessman who is the main suspect in the Caruana Galizia murder, and was questioned by police shortly after. Muscat left office in January 2020 following protests over how he handled the investigation into the murder.
In September 2020, Schembri was arrested in connection with an alleged €100,000 kickback related to passport sales to wealthy foreigners.
Simon Busuttil, a former opposition leader in Malta and now secretary-general of the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament, said that Schembri’s arrest was a “historic turning point in our fight for justice.”
“Daphne, this one’s for you,” he wrote on Twitter. “We’re finishing what you started.”
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