Two high profile Maltese ministers have resigned and a third “suspended himself” amid a widening investigation into the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Keith Schembri, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, tourism minister Konrad Mizzi and economy minister Chris Gardona stepped aside within hours of each other on Tuesday.
There were calls for Mr Muscat to quit too as protesters gathered outside the Maltese parliament in Valetta accusing the prime minister of impeding the probe into Ms Caruana Galizia’s death.
The investigative reporter, dubbed a “one-woman WikiLeaks” for exposing corruption and sleaze among Maltese business and political elite, was assassinated in 2017 by a car bomb.
She had claimed that Mr Schembri and the then energy minister Mr Mizzi had benefited from secretive Panama “shell companies” following the 2016 Panama Papers data leak.
The police investigation into her death took an extraordinary turn this week after Mr Schembri was called in for questioning.
The chief of staff, who has served in Mr Muscat’s government since the Labour party came to power in 2013, had reportedly been connected with the case by the main suspect in the murder probe, businessman Yorgen Fenech.
Mr Fenech was apprehended by Maltese authorities on his yacht last week as he tried to flee the country. He was released on police bail on Tuesday amid reports that he requested a pardon in exchange for revealing what he knows.
Mr Schembri resigned amid media reports that he had tipped Mr Fenech off sparking the escape attempt.
The prime minister refused to say why his chief of staff had quit.
Hours later, Mr Mizzi announced his resignation saying it was his duty to allow Mr Muscat’s government, which was re-elected in 2017, to complete its term.
“In light of the extraordinary circumstances and the general sentiment in the country, I personally feel that the right thing to do at this moment in time is for me to step down,” he said.
By Tuesday evening, another minister had gone as Mr Cardona’s office announced that he was "suspending himself with immediate effect from his position as minister, pending the investigations".
All three men deny any wrongdoing.
Ms Caruana Galizia’s son Matthew is among those who have alleged that Mr Muscat of standing in the way of justice to protect their allies.
The prime minister "simply cannot be trusted to not obstruct justice", he tweeted.
While opposition leader Adrian Delia called for Mr Muscat to resign saying his position was "untenable, because the only decisions he can take are to protect those around him".
Mr Muscat denied he was obstructing the justice system.
He said he would resign “if there were any association between myself and the murder”.
