Matthew Caruana Galizia, the son of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia spoke about the “worrying links between organized crime and politics” in Albania, in the same way, that they exist in Malta where his mother was killed.
In an interview with journalist Arberr Hitaj for Exit, where he was asked about the alleged involvement of Albanian criminals with his mother’s assassination, Matthew said that it was just speculation. He said that it appears the bombs used to kill her came from Sicily, adding that “obviously there is a very strong link between the Sicilian Mafia and the Albanian Mafia.”
He added that “The situation in Albania is very similar to how it is in Malta where there are very, very worrying links between organised crime and politics.”
Matthew also spoke about corruption originating in Malta that has been exported to the Balkans. For example, one of those charged concerning her assassination, Yorgen Fenech is involved with energy investment in Montenegro that is currently under investigation.
He also mentioned the Vitals Global Health/Steward Healthcare scandal that Exit has investigated and reported on at length. In Malta, a private company won a concession to run three state hospitals, bankrupted itself, and sold the concession to another company while the investors behind the deal were the same and profited twice.
Not only is this company looking to get its hands on state hospitals in Montenegro, but Exit discovered it was meeting with senior Albanian officials to negotiate a similar scam. Discussions were also being had with the North Macedonian government.
Today is the third anniversary since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated with a car bomb, not far from her home in Malta. She was an investigative journalist who specialised in unearthing corruption in the Maltese government, in particular the socialist Malta Labour Party previously led by now-disgraced Joseph Muscat. Senior party officials are believed to be involved in ordering her assassination.
