Malta is still coming to grips with the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and its potential links to the highest officials in the nation’s institutions. It’s been a murky road so far, so Lovin Malta’s Jon Mallia broke it down in a 10-minute quick-fire explainer to show you why Europol’s Joint Investigative must come on board.

With so many twists and turns in the courts, it is becoming harder to see who is telling the truth and who is lying, and that includes state witness Melvin Theuma. Whatever the case, one thing is clear Malta’s police have never handled a case like this before.

The murder and its players are linked to several controversial deals with international implications, whether that’s the Panama Papers or Enemalta’s purchase of a wind farm in Montenegro.

It could be a cross-continent network and it should be clear that the scale of transnational crime exposed by Caruana Galizia and other journalists continuing her work can only be properly investigated by an international team.

Maltese authorities are facing an enormous challenge, as new Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa has conceded.

Former Economic Crimes Unit Head Ian Abdilla has already been made to resign, while former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta relationship to the case means it’s now more important than ever that people have the utmost support in the investigative team.

What is a Joint Investigative Team?

A JIT is led by the main member state and it is the laws of that country that governs its activities, giving Maltese authorities ultimate control over the investigation. A JIT team is usually made up of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and other relevant personnel.

Europol supports at JIT in several ways but mainly helps the team identify links with other cases, provide information, offer analytical, technical, forensic, and logistical support, and ensure a secure exchange of information.

It has had successes elsewhere, having been instrumental in dismantling migrant smuggling networks, tackled a multi-million phishing scam, arrested cybercrime groups, and destroyed a child-abuse network spreading across six EU countries.

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