$1.2million Panama Papers murder reward nixed

The sons of a Malta journalist who was murdered after linking the Maltese Prime Minister to “Panama Papers” revelations have refused to endorse a $1.2 million reward. for evidence leading to a conviction in the case.

The sons of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s say they are “not interested in justice without change”

Galizia’s three sons have called for the country’s prime minister to resign  after  she was killed by a car bomb near   her home on the Mediterranean Island on Monday, October 19

The slain journalist, dubbed by Politico as a “one-woman-Wikileaks”, was a polarising figure in Malta and a thorn in the side of many across the political spectrum. Local politicians as well as businessmen,  local and foreign, had found themselves targets of her reporting.

Thousands turned out for a candlelight vigil after the killing and expressions of condolence continue to flood social media. in reaction to her death.

In her 20 or so years of reporting, she uncovered political corruption and thuggery, banks that allegedly facilitated money laundering, as well as links between Malta’s online gaming industry and the Mafia.

Mossack Fonseca
Over the past two years, Caruana Galizia had largely focused her attention on the Panama Papers, a cache of 11.5 million documents from the internal database of the world’s fourth largest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, revealing links to Maltese government politicians, most notably cabinet minister Konrad Mizzi reports Euronews

Her later claims that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s wife was the owner of a company in Panama which received vast payments from accounts in Azerbaijan had led to an early general election being called this year, which Muscat went on to win by a significant margin.

Pressure on sons
A Facebook post by Matthew Caruana Galizia, signed by his brothers Andrew and Paul, said they had faced “unrelenting pressure” from Malta’s leaders to “endorse” a million-euro reward

“A government and a police force that failed our mother in life will also fail her in death. The people who for as long as we can remember sought to silence our mother cannot now be the ones to deliver justice,” they said.

They took aim at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and called for him to stand down. “Show political responsibility and resign. Resign for failing to uphold our fundamental freedoms,” they said.

The sons demanded he replace Malta’s police commissioner and attorney general “with public servants who won’t be afraid to act on evidence against him and those he protects”.

After Caruana Galizia’s death, Muscat denounced the killing, calling it an attack “on the freedom of expression in our country”. Speaking to the BBC, he said the journalist was “a very harsh critic of mine” and described her killing as “a nightmare”.

Caruana Galizia’s popular blog had also targeted opposition politicians, calling the country’s political situation “desperate” in her final post says the BBC.