Who Killed Investigative Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia?

We've seen everyone from the Prime Minister of Malta, to names inward the Panama Papers, to that Professor Mifsud guy, to Italian mobsters, to Russian oligarchs mentioned inward connective amongst her murder.
Here's the Daphne Project:

Forbidden Stories coordinated the locomote of 45 journalists from xviii tidings organizations after the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

This page compiles the publications from all of our partners. Find out to a greater extent than almost the Daphne Project here.

Some of the leads come upward together too this is where I would bet the trail leads.

From the Organized Crime too Corruption Reporting Project

The Daphne Project · Pilatus: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Private Bank for Azerbaijan’s Ruling Elite  

Children of the 2 most powerful officials inward Republic of Azerbaijan – President Ilham Aliyev too Minister of Emergencies Kamaladdin Heydarov – used dozens of offshore companies equally comprehend for investments inward luxury properties, businesses, too high-end hotels across Europe too Middle East.

Their secrets were hidden inward the files of Pilatus Bank, a controversial individual banking concern inward Republic of Malta that’s beingness investigated for laundering coin for its clients. The network used accounts at the banking concern to stash profits too funnel millions of dollars into novel investments, according to 3 sources amongst noesis of the transactions who can’t live on identified because of fearfulness of retaliation. Their revelations were corroborated yesteryear populace records obtained yesteryear reporters.

The previously unreported assets include 1 of the biggest conglomerates inward Azerbaijan, a five-star hotel too to a greater extent than than 3 dozen other luxury properties inward Dubai, French porcelain too linen factories, a villa inward southern Spain, too a hotel evolution inward the Republic of Georgia.
The newly revealed holdings underscore the extent to which the Aliyev identify unit of measurement too its allies convey profited personally from their authority of Azerbaijan. The Aliyevs convey run the oil-rich Caucasus province since its independence from the Soviet Union. Human rights groups too other independent observers bill the undemocratic authorities of regular abuses, including imprisoning journalists too opposition leaders.

Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had begun reporting on the Azeri ruling families too their Pilatus accounts earlier her death. She was murdered yesteryear a auto bomb final October.

This follow-up investigation is the lawsuit of a collaboration of xviii tidings organizations, including the Organized Crime too Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the Guardian, Reuters, Le Monde, too the New York Times. Led yesteryear France’s Forbidden Stories, the Daphne Project was created to proceed the Maltese journalist’s work.

Leyla too Arzu Aliyeva, the 2 daughters of the Azeri President, were the bank’s largest clients too the ultimate beneficial owners of a issue of the opaque offshore companies, according to the 3 sources.

Tale too Nijat Heydarov, the sons of the country’s emergency minister, were the beneficial owners of other companies inward the network, according to the same sources.

Kamaladdin Heydarov is a long-serving Azeri official amongst close ties to the outset family. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 leaked 2010 the U.S. of A. diplomatic cable describes him equally having accrued “massive wealth” during his tenure equally chairman of the province customs way — “an way that is notoriously corrupt, fifty-fifty yesteryear Azeri standards.” The identify unit of measurement is said to “own to a greater extent than businesses than whatsoever other Azeri family,” which is possibly why Heydarov is known inward the dry reason equally “the Minister of Everything Significant.”

Lawyers for the Heydarov brothers said: “Our clients are the beneficial owners of companies which concord accounts at Pilatus Bank inward Malta, which convey exclusively legitimate too lawful business.” The construction was laid “to concord European belongings too assets,” too their ownership was inward many cases inward the populace domain. They also denied the characterization of the identify unit of measurement inward the diplomatic cables, calling it “not a reliable source.”

The Aliyev daughters did non response to a asking for comment.

The Russian Whistleblower The outset populace revelations almost Pilatus too its Azeri clients came from Maria Efimova, a erstwhile employee of the bank.

In early on 2017, Caruana Galizia met Efimova, a Russian national, almost a twelvemonth after she had been fired from the bank. Efimova had sued Pilatus for failing to pay her salary, too the banking concern responded yesteryear reporting her to the law for misappropriation of funds.

She told the reporter that Aliyev’s eldest miss Leyla had transferred over €1 1 K 1000 from a Pilatus concern human relationship held yesteryear her Dubai-registered company, Sahra FZCO, to an offshore fellowship owned yesteryear the married adult woman of Joseph Muscat, Malta’s Prime Minister.

Once published, the story directly turned into a major corruption scandal. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 local boob tube station filmed Ali Sadr, the bank’s owner, too Antoniella Gauci, its jeopardy manager, leaving the edifice inward the pump of the same night. Ali Sadr was carrying bags of documents.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 few hours later, at almost four am, a mysterious individual jet took off from Republic of Malta International Airport, made a halt inward Baku, Azerbaijan, too and therefore proceeded to Dubai.

The Maltese prime number government minister vociferously rejected Caruana Galizia’s reporting, too the jet operator said that no 1 had been on board. But 3 days later, the reporter broke about other story stating that the bank’s principal customer was Heydarov, Azerbaijan’s Minister for Emergency Situations.

Caruana Galizia was killed less than half dozen months later. (No testify has arisen linking her murder to Heydarov or his sons.) After her murder, Efimova, who said she feared for her life, fled the country. She was arrested inward Hellenic Republic inward relation to the accusations Pilatus had made against her, only a court late ruled that she volition non live on extradited dorsum to Malta.

The role of Aliyeva’s alleged payments to Muscat’s married adult woman are unclear. The prime number government minister had made several low-key trips to Baku where he had meetings amongst President Aliyev that did non follow normal protocol for meetings amongst unusual leaders. He has also publicly praised Azerbaijan’s notoriously rigged elections....MORE