Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, known for leading the Panama Papers investigation in Malta, was killed on Monday when a bomb exploded in her car near her home. The blast was so powerful that it shattered the vehicle and scattered debris into a nearby field.
Caruana Galizia was one of Malta’s most influential writers, often drawing more readers to her blog than all the country’s newspapers combined. She was known for exposing corruption involving government officials, criminals, and powerful business interests. Politico once called her a “one-woman WikiLeaks.”
Her latest investigations accused Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, and two of his top aides of running secret offshore companies tied to the sale of Maltese passports and money from Azerbaijan.
Malta’s president urged people to remain calm after the attack, while Prime Minister Muscat condemned the killing, calling it a “barbaric act.” He said he had requested help from international security agencies. Later, he announced that FBI experts were coming to assist with the investigation.
Opposition leader Adrian Delia, who Caruana Galizia had also written about, said the murder was politically motivated and blamed it on a collapse in law and order. Local reports said the journalist had told police just two weeks ago that she was receiving death threats.
Caruana Galizia posted her final blog entry around 2:35 p.m. on Monday. The explosion was reported shortly after 3 p.m. Her body had not yet been officially identified. According to sources, her son heard the blast and ran to the scene.
Throughout her career, she exposed corruption across many sectors, including money laundering, online gambling, and Mafia connections, insisting she had no political allegiance.
