Daphne Project: nastavak rada Daphne Caruane Galizije

In January 2018, the Daphne Project brought together 45 journalists from 18 media organisations to continue reporting connected to the work of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The collaboration was coordinated by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based nonprofit organisation that works to ensure that the investigations of threatened or murdered journalists are not silenced.

Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb near her home in Malta on 16 October 2017. Before her death, she had reported for years on alleged corruption, conflicts of interest, money laundering, political influence and links between business and public officials. Her work drew on court records, corporate documents, public registers and leaked material. The Daphne Project’s purpose was not to reproduce every allegation as fact, but to examine the documents and continue reporting where the public interest required it.

A cross-border investigation after a journalist’s murder

Forbidden Stories announced the project as a collective response to the killing. Reporters from organisations including Reuters, The Guardian, France 2, Le Monde, Süddeutsche Zeitung and other international and national media examined files and leads that Caruana Galizia had been pursuing. The cooperation reflected a central principle of investigative journalism: when evidence crosses borders, reporting often has to do the same.

The project was also a statement about press freedom. Murdering a journalist can remove an individual from public life, but it cannot necessarily remove the records, contacts and reporting already shared with colleagues. By distributing material among multiple newsrooms, the Daphne Project reduced the risk that a single investigation would disappear with its author.

What the reporting examined

The participating journalists reported on several subjects associated with Caruana Galizia’s work. These included Malta’s financial sector, the company Egrant, the private company 17 Black, and questions surrounding the ownership and operation of Pilatus Bank. The reports also examined alleged connections between political power, offshore structures and commercial interests.

These subjects were not presented as one single proven scheme. Each claim required separate verification, identification of the relevant documents and a right of reply for the people and organisations mentioned. In responsible reporting, an allegation, an official investigation, a court finding and a proven criminal offence are different categories and must not be merged.

Egrant and the importance of attribution

One of the most politically sensitive issues was Egrant, a company discussed in Caruana Galizia’s reporting and later examined by Maltese authorities. Reports connected the company to allegations involving former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s family. Muscat and his wife denied the allegations. A Maltese inquiry into the ownership claims reported that it had found no evidence that Egrant belonged to Muscat’s wife.

The episode illustrates why the source of a claim matters. The original reporting should be identified, the response of the people named should be included, and later official findings should be reported even when they do not confirm the original allegation. The Daphne Project’s broader significance lies partly in this documentary process: following claims through records, denials, investigations and subsequent evidence.

17 Black, Pilatus Bank and the public record

Another line of reporting concerned 17 Black, a Dubai-registered company identified in leaked documents and reported by Caruana Galizia and later by international media. The reporting examined alleged plans for payments to companies linked to Maltese political figures. The people and companies mentioned rejected wrongdoing or disputed the interpretation of the documents. The existence of a company, a bank account or a proposed payment does not by itself establish that a crime occurred.

Journalists also investigated Pilatus Bank, a Maltese financial institution that had been the subject of regulatory and media scrutiny. Reports raised questions about its customers, compliance controls and relationships involving people in Azerbaijan and Malta. Pilatus Bank and its owner, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, denied allegations of wrongdoing. Separate legal and regulatory proceedings developed over time, and their outcomes must be distinguished from claims made in journalistic reporting.

The original investigations were published by the participating news organisations and by Forbidden Stories. They relied on different combinations of leaked records, corporate information, interviews and official documents. Readers should consult those original publications and primary records when assessing a particular claim.

Responses and accountability

The Maltese government and politicians named in the reporting rejected accusations of corruption or improper conduct. Joseph Muscat repeatedly denied allegations concerning his family and political circle. Companies and individuals mentioned in the reports also issued denials or explanations. Including those responses is not a formality: it allows readers to understand what was alleged, who made the allegation, and how the subject answered.

Malta’s public inquiry into the assassination, whose report was published in 2021, concluded that the state had created an atmosphere of impunity and should bear responsibility for failing to recognise the real and immediate risks to Caruana Galizia’s life. The finding concerned the state’s responsibility and institutional failures; it was not a criminal conviction of every person named in her reporting.

The criminal case concerning her killing is a separate matter from the Daphne Project’s reporting. Criminal responsibility has to be established through due process, evidence and the courts. Investigative journalism can reveal questions and evidence of public interest, but it does not replace a judicial determination.

Why the project matters beyond Malta

The Daphne Project showed how corruption investigations can involve several jurisdictions at once. Companies may be registered in one country, bank accounts held in another, public decisions made in a third and leaked records stored elsewhere. A national newsroom may discover the lead, while foreign partners locate the documents, financial records or witnesses needed to test it.

For audiences in Croatia and across the European Union, the project offers a practical lesson in reading investigations. Look for the original publisher, the documents cited, the difference between an allegation and a finding, and the response from each person or organisation named. Pay attention to corrections and later court or regulatory decisions. Trust is strengthened not by dramatic language, but by transparent evidence and precise attribution.

The continuation of a murdered journalist’s work is not a verdict. It is a public record built through verification, attribution and the right of reply.

Sources and original publications

• Forbidden Stories, materials and project documentation relating to the Daphne Project.
• Reuters reporting produced as part of the international collaboration.
• The Guardian reporting on Malta, Daphne Caruana Galizia and the investigations continued after her death.
• Le Monde, France 2 and Süddeutsche Zeitung reporting published through the Daphne Project.
• The report of Malta’s public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, published in 2021.
• Maltese court, regulatory and official records concerning Egrant, 17 Black, Pilatus Bank and the criminal proceedings connected with the assassination.

The Daphne Project remains an example of collaborative investigative journalism, but its individual findings should always be assessed against the original publication, the available evidence and the subsequent official record. That standard is essential when reporting on corruption, organised crime, public spending and political power.