Perhaps her biggest target throughout her career, Muscat appeared to have triumphed for good after a magisterial inquiry cast serious doubt over Caruana Galizia’s claim that his wife owned the Panama company Egrant.

However, he was forced to resign as Prime Minister in 2019 after links emerged between his office and Caruana Galizia’s murder, engulfing Malta into a national crisis.

After keeping a low profile for a few years, Muscat was appointed chairman of the Malta Premier League and gave a series of lengthy interviews, including to Lovin Malta, something he refused to do as Prime Minister. He has also released a number of public statements that could indicate a degree of friction between him and his successor Robert Abela.

Muscat’s home was raided last year as part of a magisterial inquiry into the infamous hospitals deal but no charges have been issued as of yet, and Muscat is now trying to replace the magistrate concerns over concerns about her impartiality.

2. Michelle Muscat

Despite her husband’s descent from power, Michelle Muscat has continued chairing the Marigold Foundation, a philanthropic organisation started by BOV which is most known for its annual Pink October and Movember campaigns, and the National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support.

There have been persistent rumours that Muscat could follow her husband into politics by contesting the upcoming European Parliament elections, but nothing has been confirmed or denied.

3. Keith Schembri

Muscat’s chief of staff stepped down shortly before the Prime Minister himself and was briefly arrested after Yorgen Fenech implicated him in Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Although he was released without charge, he was later hit with a number of charges related to a phantom government job granted to murder middleman Melvin Theuma and alleged money laundering involving a printing press at Allied Newspapers. Both cases are ongoing.

Schembri’s most recent public appearance was earlier this year when he faced a parliamentary grilling over the Electrogas power station.

4. Konrad Mizzi

Mizzi was forced to resign as Tourism Minister in the wake of French’s arrest and was later expelled from the PL’s parliamentary group following reports that Fenech had profited off Enemalta’s 2015 purchase of a Montenegro wind farm.

Mizzi has kept a very low profile since then, although he did appear for multiple Parliament grillings over the Electrogas power station, where he adopted a very combative mode.

No charges have ever been issued against Mizzi, although both he and Schembri have been banned from traveling to the USA due to their involvement in “significant corruption”.

5. Brian Tonna

The founder of Nexia BT, the financial services firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, has had a particularly torrid time of it.

Nexia BT has shuttered its doors, while Tonna and his business partner Karl Cini have been charged over the Allied Newspapers case. Both men have had their accountancy warrants suspended and they have been banned from holding positions in registered companies pending the outcome of the case.

6. Chris Cardona

Cardona was suspended as Economy Minister following Fenech’s arrest, the murder suspect having received a letter – allegedly from Schembri – with instructions to pin the murder on the minister.

He never returned to his position and resigned from Parliament altogether a few months later. When middleman Melvin Theuma said he heard Cardona had paid to have Caruana Galizia, an allegation Cardona denied, Robert Abela forced him to resign as PL deputy leader in 2020.

Cardona has remained out of politics ever since and is now working in the private sector.

7. Ali Sadr Hasheminejad

The founder of Pilatus Bank, Hasheminejad was arrested in the US, charged with bypassing US sanctions on Iran and found guilty, but the charges were dropped after it was revealed that the prosecution had withheld evidence from the courts.

Pilatus Bank’s license was revoked by the European Central Bank in 2018 but the banker has since instituted legal action to try and recover his license and claim damages.

The bank was the subject of a recent book by Repubblika president Robert Aquilina, which included a report on the full magisterial inquiry into the bank.

8. Ram Tumuluri

The former Vitals Global Healthcare director is seeking whistleblower protection in the USA in return for revealing alleged coercion, threats and corrupt practices by the Maltese government.

Tumuluri shockingly claimed that Schembri warned him in 2017 that he “knows what happened with Daphne and doesn’t want to end up in that position”, an allegation Schembri has denied.

The VGH deal was transferred to Steward Healthcare but is now on the brink of collapse, after PN MP Adrian Delia won a landmark case in which the courts ordered that the hospitals be returned to the government. Steward has appealed this verdict.

9. Silvio Debono

The founder of the db Group found himself embroiled in an eight-year-long legal battle to construct a Hard Rock Hotel project on the former ITS land in Pembroke.

Despite vicious opposition from residents, NGOs and local councils, Debono emerged victorious in an appeal earlier this year and works on the project have now started.

Debono remains chairman of the db Group but he has taken a step back from the company’s day-to-day business affairs and his son Robert Debono is now CEO.

10. Rosianne Cutajar

Cutajar was appointed parliamentary secretary for civil liberties and reforms in 2020 and spearheaded a bill to partially legalise cannabis for private use. However, she was soon forced out of Cabinet due to revelations of her previous connections with Yorgen Fenech.

Earlier this year, after Mark Camilleri published her chat history with Fenech, she was kicked out of the PL’s parliamentary group entirely and banned from contesting further elections under PL. However, she recently appeared at the PL’s annual general conference, suggesting that a political comeback could be on the cards.

11. Adrian Delia

Caruana Galizia’s last major target before her assassination, Delia’s tenure in charge of the PN was characterised by internal revolt and infighting. Things got to a head in 2020 when an internal leadership election was called and Bernard Grech beat Delia to the top job.

However, Delia has since reinvented himself as one of the Nationalist Party’s most prominent and vociferous MPs, shadowing the transport ministry and winning a crucial court victory over the Vitals deal.

12. John Dalli

A former Finance Minister and PN leadership contestant, Dalli initially responded to Caruana Galicia’s murder by penning an opinion piece about how “resilience conquers “poison pens”.

He maintained a low profile since then but was last year charged with bribery and trading in influence over a snus lobbying scandal that forced his resignation as European Commissioner a decade ago.

Are you going to commemorate Daphne Caruana Galizia today?