QResear.ch

#20936944 at 2024-05-30 05:40:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #25678: Image Server Back Jack Edition

Malta's ex-PM Muscat faces corruption charges in court
His former chief of staff Keith Schembri and former health minister Konrad Mizzi faced the same charges and also pleaded not guilty.
Muscat's arraignment came weeks after a four-year inquiry, instigated by rule-of-law activist group Repubblika, said it had uncovered foul play in how his government had handled a four billion euro ($4.35 billion) contract for the management of three hospitals.
Caruana Galizia had investigated the hospitals deal and was killed in a car bomb explosion in 2017. Her death and subsequent investigations shocked Europe, raising questions about the rule of law in Malta, the smallest EU member state.
Muscat resigned as prime minister in January 2019 after media revealed that he and Schembri had ties with Yorgen Fenech, a businessman who is awaiting trial for complicity in the murder of Galizia.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/maltas-ex-pm-Muscat-faces-corruption-charges-in-court/ar-BB1nfdRo
HISTORY:
Malta police search former PM Muscat's home as part of corruption probe
January 20, 2022
https://www.politico.eu/article/malta-Joseph-Muscat-police-search-house-corruption-probe/

Horse racing club officials testify in Yorgen Fenech money laundering case
Fenech, who is indicted over his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, stands accused of fraud, misappropriation and money laundering
17 January 2022
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/114443/horse_racing_club_officials_testify_in_yorgen_fenech_money_laundering_case#.Yel0Ut_LcTs

Former Maltese officials barred from US due to corruption allegations
The former Maltese public officials are Konrad Mizzi, who served as the minister of energy and conservation of water, and Keith Schembri, who was chief of staff to the nation's prime minister.
Dec 22, 2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-maltese-officials-barred-from-us-due-to-corruption-allegations/ar-AAS4ezR

Muscat among people reassured by Fenech that messages had been deleted - Repubblika
It emerged over the past few days that the 17 Black owner had lost his mobile phone while visiting the United States late in 2018. He had then messaged several people, including Konrad Mizzi, telling them that he had "deleted Whatsapp."
"The story has a strong stench of money laundering. We are sure that the people at the FCID have smelled it ... so what are they waiting for to investigate Muscat?
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-11-09/local-news/Muscat-among-people-reassured-by-Fenech-that-messages-had-been-deleted-Repubblika-6736238148

Daphne Caruana Galizia: Malta businessman charged with complicity in murder
Yorgen Fenech: has been repeatedly questioned over the killing
He was identified last year as being the owner of a mysterious Dubai-registered company, 17 Black.
The investigation into Caruana Galizia's death has rocked the island's government.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is under pressure to resign.
His chief aide, Keith Schembri, quit this week amid reports he was being questioned by police, while Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi also resigned and Economy Minister Chris Cardona took the decision to suspend himself.
Caruana Galizia had written about 17 Black eight months before her death, alleging it had links to both Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.
30 November 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50615375

#20838687 at 2024-05-08 19:36:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #25559: Smocking Edition

Top officials in EU state charged with corruption - media

The case against the ex-Maltese premier, deputy PM, and others stems from a probe into a privatization scandal

The charges against former premier Joseph Muscat, current Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, and the governor of the EU nation's central bank, Edward Scicluna, were filed on Monday, AFP said, citing documents it had obtained.

Muscat, who was Malta's prime minister between 2013 and 2020, has reportedly been charged with accepting bribes, corruption in public office, and money laundering.

Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who published extensive investigations into the Muscat administration's privatization deals, was assassinated in 2017. The political fallout from the murder forced Muscat to resign in late 2019.

Fearne and Scicluna were charged with fraud, misappropriation, and fraudulent gain, AFP reported.

The charges are the result of a probe dating back to a 2015 decision by Muscat's Labour government to pass the management of three public hospitals in the Mediterranean island nation to a private company. The firm later sold the concession to the Steward US hospital network. The privately-owned chain filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, putting all 31 of its US hospitals up for sale.

Last year, a Maltese court annulled the privatization after the deal had been challenged by the opposition. The court said it had found evidence of fraudulent behavior. An appeals court later upheld the ruling due to "collusion" between the companies and senior government officials.

Muscat's health minister and chief of staff at the time have also been charged with bribery and money laundering, according to AFP.

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela cast doubt on the integrity of the inquiry on Monday. Local media quoted him as claiming that the probe's findings were timed to damage his Labour Party's prospects ahead of the June elections for the European Parliament.

Muscat took to Facebook on Tuesday to claim that the authorities "decided to smear" him "without even questioning" him. Fearne also claimed on Wednesday that he had "never strayed towards breaking the law."

Malta ranks as a 'Flawed Democracy' on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. It scored 51 points out of 100 for 2023 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The EU is no stranger to corruption scandals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is currently being investigated for corruption in connection with the purchase of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. Elsewhere, Slovak National Bank governor and member the EU Central Bank Governing Council, Peter Kazimir, is defending bribery charges. Former Latvian central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in December.

https://www.rt.com/news/597225-malta-top-officials-charged-corruption/

#17489449 at 2022-09-03 17:15:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21438: Planefags Scrambled Edition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_honorary_Knights_and_Dames_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George

Knight Commander star of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
Name Post-nominals Known for Year appointed
Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa KCMG King of Bahrain 1979
United States Henry Kissinger KCMG Former United States Secretary of State 1995[9]
Brazil Frederico Cezar de Araujo KCMG Brazilian diplomat 1997[2]
Brazil Gelson Fonseca KCMG Brazilian diplomat 1997[2]
Brazil Affonso Emilio de Alencastro Massot KCMG Brazilian diplomat 1997[2]
Japan Takekazu Kawamura KCMG Japanese diplomat 1998[2]
Germany Henrik Schmiegelow KCMG German diplomat 1998[2]
Sweden Carl Bildt KCMG Former Prime Minister of Sweden & High Representative for Bosnia 1998[2]
Hungary J?zsef Sz?jer KCMG Former Chairman of the European Integration Select Committee 1999[2]
Denmark Jan Marcussen KCMG Danish diplomat 2000[2]
Italy Carmela Decaro Bonella DCMG Former Deputy Director General and Director of the President of Italy's Office 2000[2]
Italy Luigi Guidobono Cavalchini Garofoli KCMG Former Private Secretary to the Foreign Minister of Italy 2000[2]
Italy Francesco Olivieri KCMG Former Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Italy 2000[2]
Spain Javier Solana KCMG Former Secretary General of NATO 2000[2]
United States Richard Armitage KCMG CNZM AC Former United States Deputy Secretary of State 2005[2]
Germany Klaus Schwab KCMG World Economic Forum head 2006[2][10][11]
Netherlands Jaap de Hoop Scheffer KCMG Former Secretary General of NATO 2010[12]
Greece Efthymios Mitropoulos KCMG Former Secretary-General of International Maritime Organization 2012[13]
Indonesia Marzuki Alie KCMG Former Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives 2012[13]
Indonesia Irman Gusman KCMG Former Speaker of the Indonesian House of Regional Representatives 2012[13]
Indonesia Marty Natalegawa KCMG Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia 2012[13]
United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan KCMG Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE 2013[14]
South Korea Yun Byung-se KCMG Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea 2013[14]
United States Angelina Jolie DCMG American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian 2014[6]
France Laurent Fabius KCMG Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France 2014[6]
France Laurent Stefanini KCMG Former Ambassador, Chief of Protocol to President Hollande 2014[6]
Singapore Grace Fu DCMG Former Second Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore 2014[6]
Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen KCMG Former Prime Minister of Denmark & Secretary General of NATO 2015[7]
Mexico Jos? Antonio Meade Kuribre?a KCMG Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico 2015[7]
Malta Joseph Muscat KCMG Former Prime Minister of Malta 2015[7]
Malta George Vella KCMG Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta now President of Malta 2018[15]
Jordan Zeid Raad Al Hussein KCMG Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 2019[16]
Kuwait Khaled Al-Duwaisan GCVO KCMG Kuwaiti diplomat 2022[17]

#15430453 at 2022-01-21 19:15:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19517: Ebake for America Edition

Amidst Corruption Probe, Police Raid Maltese Ex-PM's Home

Maltese police raided on Wednesday the home of former Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, as part of an ongoing corruption probe related to a deal between a U.S. healthcare company and the Maltese state, the Times of Malta reported.

Muscat served as prime minister of Mediterranean island from 2013 to 2020. The paper claims that Steward Healthcare indirectly paid him tens of thousands of euros at the time his government approved the U.S. company's takeover of hospitals concession from Maltese healthcare company Vitals Global Healthcare.

The deal was the focus of local investigative journalist Daphne Carauna Galizia when she was assassinated by car bomb in 2017. In 2019 OCCRP named Muscat Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption, for the increase in criminality and lack of prosecution under his rule.

"Joseph Muscat's actions led to my mother's assassination," Galizia's son Andrew tweeted earlier this week, before the raid.

According to the Times of Malta, Muscat expected the investigators as he was prepared with a file to hand them when they arrived at his home in Burmarrad, northwest of Valletta.

After the hours-long search, he told reporters that he was only "half surprised."

"I gave the police a file that had been prepared since November. In November I asked to testify in the inquiry," he told the Times of Malta in a sit down interview in his home. "The file contains documented proof of the work I did. None of the work has anything to do with the Maltese hospitals."

Though suspicion has recently shifted onto Muscat, three other high level Maltese officials have been named in the VGH case, Edward Scicluna, Who leads Malta's Central Bank as well as former ministers Chris Cardona and Konrad Mizzi.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/15810-amidst-corruption-probe-police-raid-maltese-ex-pm-s-home

#15421560 at 2022-01-20 14:52:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19506: Filibuster Follies Fail Edition

Malta police search former PM Muscat's home as part of corruption probe
January 20, 2022
https://www.politico.eu/article/malta-Joseph-Muscat-police-search-house-corruption-probe/

Horse racing club officials testify in Yorgen Fenech money laundering case
Fenech, who is indicted over his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, stands accused of fraud, misappropriation and money laundering
17 January 2022
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/114443/horse_racing_club_officials_testify_in_yorgen_fenech_money_laundering_case#.Yel0Ut_LcTs

Former Maltese officials barred from US due to corruption allegations
The former Maltese public officials are Konrad Mizzi, who served as the minister of energy and conservation of water, and Keith Schembri, who was chief of staff to the nation's prime minister.
Dec 22, 2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-maltese-officials-barred-from-us-due-to-corruption-allegations/ar-AAS4ezR

Muscat among people reassured by Fenech that messages had been deleted - Repubblika
It emerged over the past few days that the 17 Black owner had lost his mobile phone while visiting the United States late in 2018. He had then messaged several people, including Konrad Mizzi, telling them that he had "deleted Whatsapp."
"The story has a strong stench of money laundering. We are sure that the people at the FCID have smelled it ... so what are they waiting for to investigate Muscat?
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-11-09/local-news/Muscat-among-people-reassured-by-Fenech-that-messages-had-been-deleted-Repubblika-6736238148

Daphne Caruana Galizia: Malta businessman charged with complicity in murder
Yorgen Fenech: has been repeatedly questioned over the killing
He was identified last year as being the owner of a mysterious Dubai-registered company, 17 Black.
The investigation into Caruana Galizia's death has rocked the island's government.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is under pressure to resign.
His chief aide, Keith Schembri, quit this week amid reports he was being questioned by police, while Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi also resigned and Economy Minister Chris Cardona took the decision to suspend himself.
Caruana Galizia had written about 17 Black eight months before her death, alleging it had links to both Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.
30 November 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50615375

#15417127 at 2022-01-19 23:17:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19500: Remember This Day Edition

>>15416734
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and as the leader of the Labour Party from June 2008 to January 2020. Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the elections of 3 June 2017. Previously he was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008.Wikipedia

#14677109 at 2021-09-28 05:12:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #18564: THANK YOU NOTE TAKERS Edition

Former Malta Book Council chairman Mark Camilleri has alleged that [Joseph Muscat] had offered to make him ambassador of any country he wanted in an attempt to silence him.
Camilleri said that several "bizarre" things took place after the news broke that Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect [Yorgen Fenech] owned the mysterious Dubai company [17 Black].
September 27, 2021
https://lovinmalta.com/news/Joseph-Muscat-offered-me-an-ambassadorship-in-any-country-i-wanted-mark-camilleri-claims-in-new-book/

[Yorgen] Fenech, who is facing separate charges in which he is accused of masterminding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia [Panama Papers], was charged on Monday afternoon with money laundering offences
August 30, 2021
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-08-30/local-news/Yorgen-Fenech-to-face-charges-on-financial-crimes-6736236340

Maltese Billionaire Casino Owner To Stand Trial On Murder Charges
Yorgen Fenech should spend the rest of his life in prison says Malta's attorney general after the businessman was finally indicted on complicity to murder Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia back in October 2017.
August 19, 2021
https://gaming-awards.com/NEWS/maltese-billionaire-casino-owner-to-stand-trial-on-murder-charges/

In Malta, authorities charged Keith Schembri, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's chief of staff, with money laundering and fraud as a result of an investigation sparked in part by the Panama Papers - and a court heard more testimony about the car-bomb assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist who used evidence from the trove of documents in her expos?s of high-ranking government officials.
April 3, 2021
https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/five-years-later-panama-papers-still-having-a-big-impact/

Allegations about Pilatus Bank facilitating corrupt payments to Egrant, claimed to be owned by prime minister Joseph Muscat's wife, put the bank under intense scrutiny in April 2017.
The claims, published by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, coincided with a leak about the FIAU's earlier findings of lax money-laundering controls at the bank.
Schembri and Muscat both went to [Sadr]'s wedding in Italy.
September 5, 2021
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/the-rise-and-fall-of-pilatus-bank.898237

Pilatus Bank chairman arrested in the US
Sadr held over alleged $115 mln sanctions evasion scheme
March 21, 2018
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/us-arrests-arraigns-chairman-of-pilatus-bank.673976

Yorgen Fenech, a member of one of Malta's most prominent and richest families
November 30, 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/world/europe/malta-journalist-killing.html

#13041004 at 2021-02-24 23:20:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #16609 Still Learn To Bake! Edition

Hitman Pleads Guilty in Maltese Journalist's Murder

Vince Muscat, one of three men on trial for the 2017 assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, pled guilty on Tuesday to all charges against him in exchange for a 15 years prison sentence.

As part of the plea deal, Muscat agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the murder case in which his alleged co-conspirators, the brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, continue to deny guilt. In a related development, he will also provide information on his role in the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop, for which he received a presidential pardon on Monday.

This sudden reversal is one of the first signs of movement in the three-years-long legal process that started with the trio's arrest in December 2017. The three are suspected of planting the car bomb that killed one of Malta's most famous investigative journalists, described by Politico as "a one-woman Wikileaks."

At the time Caruana Galizia was investigating top-level corruption in Malta's "Golden Passports" investment program, which came after her Panama Papers stories rocked the country by alleging the involvement of then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat - no relation to Vince Muscat– in a money laundering and kickbacks scheme.

The former stepped down in January last year after nearly 20,000 people protested in the capital, Valletta, and demanded his resignation. This came mere months after the resignations of his Chief of Staff, Economy Minister and Tourism Minister, and was swiftly followed by the resignation of Malta's police chief for allegedly leaking information to a middleman involved in Caruana Galizia's assassination.

Hours apart from Vince Muscat's lawyer entering a guilty plea on Tuesday, Maltese police also raided an undisclosed location and arrested three men alleged to have provided the car bomb that killed Caruana Galizia: Adrian and Robert Agius and Jamie Vella.

They were among seven others previously arrested alongside Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers in 2017 but released without charges.

Yet while Muscat's guilty plea may undermine the legal defenses of both the Degiorgio brothers and their newly arrested alleged bomb suppliers, it is unlikely to touch the main suspect in the journalist's assassination - Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech - let alone the higher powers above him.

Navy personnel arrested Fenech trying to leave Malta in late 2019 and charged him with murder and participation in a criminal organization. He continues to plead not guilty.

A statement delivered in court by a lawyer representing Caruana Galizia's family expressed "the hope that this step will begin to lead to full justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia," a person whose legacy continues to animate countless others across the world.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13926-hitman-pleads-guilty-in-maltese-journalist-s-murder

#11697014 at 2020-11-18 20:59:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #14934: We Are Moving In One Accord Edition

Husband of Whistleblower Released Following Arrest in Greece

The husband of a whistleblower who provided evidence of alleged corruption to slain Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was released on Tuesday, one day after police arrested him following a request from Cyprus' authorities.

Pantelis Varnava, the husband of Maria Efimova and a citizen of both Greece and Cyprus, is facing extradition from Greece on charges of fraud, embezzlement, forgery and money laundering, according to a document he shared with OCCRP. He denies any wrongdoing, and his lawyer says that the charges are a continuation of a string of accusations previously made against his wife.

Efimova, a former employee at the Malta-based Pilatus Bank, is known for having blown the whistle to Daphne Caruana Galizia, exposing a money trail facilitated by her bank between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Michelle Muscat, the wife of Maltese ex-prime minister Joseph Muscat, to whom he had allegedly been sending payments to.

A subsequent investigation in Malta failed to back Efimova's claims and she was ultimately charged with perjury.

Efimova, along with her husband, first faced arrest warrants from Cypriot authorities in January of 2018 after they alleged that she had stolen funds from I.F.D. Fragrance Distribution Co. Limited, a Cypriot firm where she had previously worked.

Months later, Efimova was also issued an arrest warrant by Maltese authorities for allegedly embezzling several thousand euros from Pilatus bank and defaming public officials. She subsequently turned herself in at a police station in Greece, where she fled back in 2017.

The Greek courts ultimately rejected Malta's extradition request over what they said were insignificant offenses.

In a Facebook post, Efimova said that the most recent arrest of her husband was made under the "same ridiculous charges" that were filed against her three years ago, and that they were being made by corrupt actors in Malta and Cyprus, who she said had joined forces yet again.

Her husband responded to the charges as well, telling OCCRP that he had never worked at the company he was being accused of stealing from, and that he has also "had nothing to do with its director."

His lawyer, Dionysis Verras, called the accusations against his client "fabricated" and "rigged," saying that it served as a "continuation in a chain of European warrants which started a few years ago with his wife."

"I realized that there was something wrong with the case of this person [Varnava]. There's something much more serious, and they are trying to implicate him because of another more serious matter which apparently has a procedural, vindictive character," Verras said.

"I believe it is the last time that this family should be tested and I believe that with what is going to happen here, their adventure will come to an end," he said, adding that he and his client "have documents showing that a dirty game is being played on him."

The Court of Appeals of East Crete will decide Varnava's fate, which, according to Verras, is expected to convene in the coming days.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13415-husband-of-whistleblower-released-following-arrest-in-greece

#7608463 at 2019-12-24 13:47:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9734: Christmas Eve Morning 2020 Edition

>>7608458
>https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/17-black-owners-boat-intercepted-at-sea-by-afm.751177
Daphne murder: 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech arrested on yacht
November 20, 2019

17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech was arrested on Wednesday morning after he was intercepted at sea aboard his yacht by Armed Forces of Malta personnel.

The businessman is a "person of interest" in the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat later confirmed.

Witnesses said the luxury yacht Gio was intercepted by an AFM patrol boat shortly after it left Portomaso marina in St Julian's around 5.30am. Data from vessel tracking website Vessel Finder showed that the yacht was back at shore within an hour of departing.

According to a source close to the investigation, a warrant, sought by the team investigating the 2017 murder, was signed by a magistrate "in a rush in relation to the attempted escape."

Mr Fenech was believed to be on route to Italy, however that was not believed to be his final destination.

#7561603 at 2019-12-19 18:19:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9673: Comms not just for Anons! Edition

>>7561467
>Constitutional Crisis in Malta
The 2019 Malta political crisis is an ongoing political and institutional crisis within the Republic of Malta following the uncovering of alleged links between government officials and the 2017 assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.[1][2][3] The Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi resigned[4] following the arrest of businessman Yorgen Fenech in connection with the murder.

On 1 December 2019 Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced his intention to resign[5] on 12 January 2020[6] after increased pressure from protestors. An EU mission has called for his immediate resignation.[7] Constitutional experts, legal bodies and other representatives have claimed Muscat's decision to remain in office until January and to have a six week Parliamentary recess over Christmas has led to an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

Malta keeps coming up
Mifsud
Buttigieg
Knights of Malta
And now the Cabal Chief Justice is involved? How?

#7467316 at 2019-12-09 22:30:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9550:Rolling in Popcorn Shift!! Edition

Pope meets with Maltese PM hit by scandal over reporter's murder

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday gave a private audience to outgoing Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, ignoring an appeal to cancel the meeting with a premier engulfed in crisis over a probe into a murdered journalist.

Francis met Muscat and his wife and family on Saturday morning, the Vatican said, in an audience that was far more low-key than those normally held with heads of government.

Unusually, no journalists were allowed to cover the event, which a Vatican spokesman said had been scheduled months ago.

Muscat said on Sunday he would resign as leader of the ruling Labour Party on Jan. 12 and in "the days after" will quit as prime minister. Opponents said he should go immediately.

A group of 22 Maltese academics sent a letter to the Vatican dated Nov. 27, before Muscat announced he would resign, urging the pope to cancel the meeting to avoid what they called a "propaganda exercise" in favor of Muscat.

The political stability of the tiny Mediterranean island has been rocked in recent weeks by the fallout from the 2017 murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was blown up by a car bomb.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-malta-pm-visit/pope-meets-with-maltese-pm-hit-by-scandal-over-reporters-murder-idUSKBN1YB0AQ

#7461166 at 2019-12-09 04:36:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9542: Prayers On The Eve Edition

>>7461160 Like this from the 1 Dec?

Daphne Caruana Galizia case: Malta PM Joseph Muscat to resign
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/malta-pm-Joseph-Muscat-resign-journalist-murder-probe-191201193028323.html

#7446411 at 2019-12-07 15:42:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9523: Sunlight is the best Disinfectant Edition

Complicated: Back in the late 90's right about the time when the madam/procurer/sexual assaulter (Ghislaine Maxwell) first started hooking up with the billionaire (Jeffrey Epstein), she was introducing him to members of the royal family including the royal pedophile and his brother (Prince Andrew and Prince Charles). Further, she introduced him to some British movie producers who have a decades long franchise. A group of people, including the producers and the pedophiles formed a corporation ("17 Black") in London that did nothing. It was a shell. Fast forward a couple of years, and the group suddenly disbands the shell company. No one hears a peep from it for almost two decades. Then, like magic it appeared as a side note to an ongoing criminal enterprise that is going to bring down the government of an EU country (Malta). Along with the resurrected shell company was another company that was formed by the same group of people a few years back along with a new partner (Yorgen Fenech) who is the money broker behind the murder of a reporter (Daphne Caruana Galizia) who was inconvenient to his business interests (Fenech had been CEO of the Tumas business group and a director of energy company Electrogas). The name of the company ("17 Black Limited") was actually selected by the billionaire pedophile as an homage to the producers who were partners in that original shell company (Yorgen Fenech was identified in 2018 as being the owner of a Dubai-registered company, called 17 Black. The company was listed in the Panama Papers). A foreign born former A+ list boy bander (Harry Styles) also has made that homage a permanent part of his body.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorgen_Fenech
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers
Exclusive: Mystery company named by murdered Maltese journalist is linked to power station developer = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malta-daphne-offshore-exclusive/exclusive-mystery-company-named-by-murdered-maltese-journalist-is-linked-to-power-station-developer-idUSKCN1NE18M
Exclusive: 17 Black owner identified as local power station businessman - https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/exclusive-17-black-owner-identified-as-local-power-station-businessman.692998
Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat 'will step down on January 18' after mounting criticism over his response to the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7742131/Malta-Prime-Minister-Joseph-Muscat-step-January-18.html
(Daphne Caruana Galizia: Malta suspect will not get immunity = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50598255
Wealthy Businessman Charged in Murder Case That Rocked Malta - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/world/europe/malta-journalist-killing.html
Unravelling the 17 Black mystery - https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/90855/unravelling_the_17_black_mystery#.XebRnpNKipo
Harry Styles' "17 BLACK" and 2 small crosses chest tattoos = http://www.popstartats.com/harry-styles-tattoos/17-black-2-small-crosses/#

#7419755 at 2019-12-03 18:42:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9489: Don't Panic! Refresh! Good wins in the end! Justice! Edition

Middleman's letter links Schembri and Fenech to Daphne murder

A letter found by the police during searches of murder suspect Yorgen Fenech's Portomaso property implicates both the millionaire business magnate and the prime minister's former chief of staff Keith Schembri in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The letter, hand-written by Melvin Theuma, the middleman granted a presidential pardon by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, claims both Mr Fenech and Mr Schembri ordered and funded the October 2017 car bombing.

Mr Theuma expressed his fears in the letter that the pair were planning to "get rid" of him.

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/letter-links-schembri-and-fenech-to-daphne-murder.754435

#7406293 at 2019-12-01 18:32:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9472: Archive cause they scrubbin! Edition

Malta PM To Step Down Related To Car Bombing Of Journalist Dubbed "One-Woman WikiLeaks"

She had been mysteriously assassinated on Oct. 16, 2017 via car bomb in Malta's most high profile crime in recent history. The 53-year old mother of three who led the Panama papers revelations and whose blog posts regularly had more readers than the combined circulation of the country's newspapers, Daphne Caruana Galizia, had been commonly described as a "one-woman WikiLeaks" for being "a thorn in the side of both the establishment and underworld figures" in the EU's smallest member state.

And now her case and prior prolific reporting has brought down Malta's prime minister and top officials within his cabinet, as the AFP reports "Joseph Muscat will step down on January 18, party sources told AFP Saturday, following mounting criticism of his response to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia."

The slain journalist's family had accused Muscat of playing "judge, jury, and executioner in an assassination investigation that so far implicates three of his closest colleagues." Recent protests have rocked the small island Mediterranean nation and kept the case in international headlines as authorities have made progress in unraveling the murder, in a shocking Hollywood-scenario crime that increasingly points straight to the prime minister's inner circle and business connections.

She made many powerful enemies and was subject of death threats over the years, also after she directly accused Prime Minister Muscat himself of corruption, when she revealed a string of secret Panama-based companies tied to Maltese politicians that served as fronts for various illegal schemes on her blog, Running Commentary, which had been frequently featured and amplified by WikiLeaks.

The circumstances of her death immediately invoked popular anger at top Maltese officials accused of being complicit given that personal police protection had been suspiciously pulled just before her death. As CNN describes:

Caruana Galizia died on October 16, 2017, when her rented Peugeot 108 was detonated by a remote control device on a country lane near her home in Bidnija, Malta. Her son Matthew Caruana Galizia, told CNN that she was driving a rental car at the time, out of fear that someone might target her car in an attempt to kill her.

Saturday's announcement that Muscat will step down follows his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, along with two top ministers resigning their posts amid accusations they were involved in the killing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/malta-pm-step-down-related-car-bombing-one-woman-wikileaks-journalist

#7376424 at 2019-11-26 16:23:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9434: We Stand United! Edition

[WATCH] Konrad Mizzi resigns, Chris Cardona suspends himself
Cabinet ministers Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona step down in wake of developments in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation


Konrad Mizzi has tendered his resignation from minister while Chris Cardona has suspended himself as political pressure mounts on Joseph Muscat's government.

The resignations come hours after the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri resigned his post.

They come hot on the heels of developments in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

Just after leaving an intense Cabinet meeting, Mizzi said he resigned from minister but would retain his parliamentary seat. "I have reflected hard… it is my duty to step down from minister so that the government will have the serenity to continue for its full term," Mizzi said.

He added that he took his decision out of loyalty to Joseph Muscat, the party and the country. Mizzi reiterated his stand that he had no direct or indirect connection to 17 Black and Yorgen Fenech.

https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/98875/konrad_mizzi_resigns_chris_cardona_suspends_himself

#7376265 at 2019-11-26 15:56:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #9433: This is not club 33 Edition

>>7376252
HE would plunge America into more darkness

Pete Buttigieg Is a National Hero … in Malta

The Maltese are already making plans for what they will do if their favorite son's son, Pete Buttigieg, is elected as the next U.S. president

There is a popular saying in Maltese that goes something like this: Tixtrix hut fil-bahar, or "don't pay for the fish while they are still in the sea."

But on the tiny European island, the Maltese are already making plans for what they will do if their favorite son's son, Pete Buttigieg, is elected as the next U.S. president. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has even officially endorsed Buttigieg's candidacy and has said he is proud to call him a friend.

"We will hold a parade for sure," Maria Cutajar, a local florist, told The Daily Beast when asked what it would mean if he won. "It would be amazing to have a Maltese in the White House.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pete-buttigieg-is-a-national-hero-in-malta

#6800102 at 2019-06-20 19:08:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8698: Loose and Stupid Edition

>>6799956 pb
>>6799976 pb
Request to repost from last bread with moar sauce.

Pete Buttigieg Is a National Hero … in Malta
The Maltese are already making plans for what they will do if their favorite son's son, Pete Buttigieg, is elected as the next U.S. president

There is a popular saying in Maltese that goes something like this: Tixtrix hut fil-bahar, or "don't pay for the fish while they are still in the sea."

But on the tiny European island, the Maltese are already making plans for what they will do if their favorite son's son, Pete Buttigieg, is elected as the next U.S. president. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has even officially endorsed Buttigieg's candidacy and has said he is proud to call him a friend.
"We will hold a parade for sure," Maria Cutajar, a local florist, told The Daily Beast when asked what it would mean if he won. "It would be amazing to have a Maltese in the White House."

Malta, which has an area of just 122 square miles, has been the site of numerous summits-it's where U.S. President George H.W. Bush met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to end the Cold War-and Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the island in December 1943.

The fact that Buttigieg is gay is the last thing on most Maltese people's minds. The island nation is leap years ahead of the rest of Europe in terms of gay marriage rights and same sex adoption rights, which has been especially slow to become law in Catholic countries in southern Europe. Locals are more concerned that his biggest problem is the country's reputation for lawlessness.

Malta tends to be tied to corruption, whether for the sale of E.U. passports to wealthy Russians or to crime for the yet unsolved murder of muckraker journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. "It would be nice to be known for something good for a change," Cutajar said.

But they won't be renaming a Maltese street after the top Democrat-it would just be too confusing. You see, while Buttigieg has become somewhat of a comical challenge for Americans to pronounce, it is one of the most common last names on the tiny island state.

'Mayor Pete' as most people call the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, because his last name is too unpronounceable, is the son of a well known Maltese immigrant Joseph Buttigieg, who taught at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana until his death in January 2019. The professor studied in London and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1979, but he also left a strong legacy in Malta. He was an external PhD examiner who often visited the university to lecture. He also continued until his illness to be an expert lecturer across Europe on Antonio Gramsci, the Italian Marxist philosopher whose ideology is still embraced in many left-leaning circles.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pete-buttigieg-is-a-national-hero-in-malta

How Meghan explored her Maltese ancestry: Extraordinary unseen images show a happy and carefree royal-to-be wearing a traditional headdress a year before she first locked eyes with Prince Harry
The future Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex's great-great-grandmother was born in Malta in 1862
Meghan visited the country in March 2015, a year before she met Prince Harry, to learn about her ancestry
In the unseen snaps, Meghan is pictured happy and relaxed as she samples the local food and wine
Describing her visit in 2015, Meghan, who was working on Suits, confessed she 'blended in' with the locals
In an interview at the time, she said: 'There is something so lovely about fitting in a piece of the puzzle'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6438465/Extraordinary-photos-Meghan-Markle-Malta-2015.html


Last pic is the knights of malta coat of arms

#5944240 at 2019-03-28 17:55:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #7603: Anons Have Baker's Back, Feels Good Edition

Migrant ship capture: Maltese armed forces take control of hijacked tanker

Malta's armed forces have taken control of a tanker that was allegedly seized by migrants off Libya on Wednesday.

The tanker, Elhiblu 1, has docked in the Maltese capital Valletta. More than 100 migrants on board are expected to be handed over to police.

The migrants had been rescued by the ship but reportedly hijacked it after being told they would be returned to Libya.

They are said to have told the captain to head north towards Europe instead.

EU naval mission 'failed to end people smuggling'
Mediterranean migrant crossings 'deadlier than ever'
Sharp fall in illegal migration to EU. The man behind Italy's migrant drop

In a statement, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said they had established communications with the captain of the ship when it was still heading towards Malta.

The captain said he was not in control of the vessel and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to sail to Malta.

A patrol vessel stopped the tanker from entering Maltese territorial waters, and a special operations unit team was dispatched to board and secure the vessel, the AFM said in a statement.

The team was backed up by several naval vessels and a helicopter.

The ship has now been handed over to the police for further investigations, the AFM said.

Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, has said all international rules will be followed as police investigate the incident on the vessel.

It is not clear what will now happen to the migrants, but they've reached the destination they wanted, says the BBC's Southern Europe correspondent James Reynolds.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47730693

#1632950 at 2018-06-04 22:48:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2053: You [Autists] Were Chosen For A Reason

>>1632767
This is interesting -

Monsignor Joseph Mifsud Bonnici?

http://thechurchinmalta.org/en/posts/522/chapter-of-the-metropolitan-cathedral

"Who is 'The Professor'?"
https://gosint.wordpress.com/2017/10/31/trump-adviser-george-papadopoulos-pleads-guilty-who-is-the-professor/

Are this Monsignor of the Archdiocese of Malta, and the mysterious Professor the same man? Dug some more and found that the surname Mifsud is common in Malta.

Malta is a very curious place, but "where the West was born"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/t-magazine/malta-cultural-crossroads.html

Article mentions the journalist who was killed by a car bomb when investigating the Panama Papers, with the results pointing at the prime minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat.

Joseph Mifsud was such a globetrotting, meddling spy/wannabe spy that there's no damn telling where he is right now. Apparently no one's seen him since last October.