Yorgen Fenech denies he paid for Degiorgio brothers’ defence

Alleged murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech has, through his lawyers, flatly denied a claim by Daphne Caruana Galizia's son, that he was funding or had funded the defence of two brothers charged with having a role in the journalist's assassination.

Fenech’s lawyers described the claim as “baseless and unfounded” and accused Matthew Caruana Galizia of attempting to “distort and adversely influence” their client’s trial.

“For the avoidance of doubt, any claim that Mr Fenech funds the defence of the Degiorgio brothers is being categorically denied," they said in a statement.

"Rather than focusing on diversionary tactics one is invited to re-focus their attention on the search for the truth,” lawyers Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran said.

On Wednesday, Matthew Caruana Galizia posted on Twitter: “He who pays the piper. The defence of the hitmen was/is funded by Yorgen Fenech, who is himself being prosecuted for complicity in the assassination.”

Caruana Galizia was reacting to a report on Wednesday about a letter Alfred and George Degiorgio sent to European Commissioner Didier Reynders. They told Reynders that the government had a conflict of interest in its assessment of...