Peter Caruana Galizia, the widower of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, has claimed there was interference by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff at the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.

Testifying in a court case, Caruana Galizia said his wife’s source at FIAU warned her of constant interference by Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, who would allegedly call FIAU often, to ensure they did not investigate private banks such as Pilatus Bank, which was at the heart of the Egrant case.

Keith Schembri, Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff (Credit: Times of Malta)

Caruana Galizia was testifying in a constitutional case filed by the family to remove deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta from the murder investigation. 

The family is arguing that Valletta has a conflict of interest due to his marriage to Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana and his role as a board member of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.

Silvio Valletta, Deputy Police Commissioner; and Justyne Caruana, Minister for Gozo (Credit: Times of Malta)

“I was and am very angry at what happened. I cannot find peace, it is a personal tragedy both to myself and my children,” Caruana Galizia said in his testimony. 

The parties failed to reach an out of court settlement as judge Silvio Meli had requested in the first sitting of the case last week.

Lovin Malta has reached out to Keith Schembri for comment, but no reply has been received as of publication. 

For updates as we get them on the Daphne Caruana Galizia court case, click here. 

Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]