Men accused of killing Daphne Caruana Galizia received benefits for years

Details of social benefits received by two of the men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia – brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio – have emerged in court.

The brothers, together with George Degiorgio’s partner, Anca Adelina Pop, are accused of money laundering after police investigating the murder observed that their lavish lifestyle was incompatible with the fact that they were registered as unemployed.

Last month, the court was told that the trio owned luxury cars and pleasure boats and had been involved in suspicious payments overseas.

As the continuation of the compilation of evidence continued yesterday morning, a representative from the Social Security Department told the court that George Degiorgio had been the recipient of single-parent benefits since 2002, as well as receiving children’s allowance for his three children.

Alfred Degiorgio also received social benefits and other allowances, while Pop had not received any assistance from the department.

A representative of the Inland Revenue Department took the witness stand today to inform the court that Alfred Degiorgio was registered for tax purposes, but his brother and Pop were not.

Pop’s lawyer, David Gatt, filed an application for a change of her curfew hours during today’s sitting. He explained that she needed to go out at 5.30am instead of 7am to be able to accompany her daughter to swimming lessons. Documents were presented to verify her request. The prosecution had no objection.

The magistrate upheld the request. There was no imminent danger of the woman tampering with evidence if the curfew was amended, he said.

The case continues. Lawyer William Cuschieri appeared for the Degiorgio brothers

The court had previously heard how George Degiorgio had a BOV account, which had been inactive since 2005, and a loan for home furnishings from HSBC with a pending balance of €1,700, the last payment of which took place in 2014.

Between May 2013 and October 2017, in just over four years, George Degiorgio transferred €25,000 outside Malta through Western Union.

His partner Pop did the same with around €17,000.

According to Transport Malta, he has owned an Audi A4 since 2016 as well as a Mistusbishi and a BMW. Since 2003, he has owned a sea vessel called Ducu, which was only registered in May 2017.

He owns no immovable property and is not registered with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for tax purposes and is not receiving any benefits or social security.

Adelina Pop made wire transfers of €38,000, €35,000 of which were to her mother. She has owned a Corvette C7 since 2015 and an Audi Q7 since 2017 as well as a Mercedes Benz since April 2018.

She was not registered with the IRD, owns no immovable property or companies and claims no benefits.

Alfred Degiorgio was wellknown among local casinos, said the inspector, having deposited some €350,000 in various casinos. Degiorgio is unemployed and has no job history other than as a security guard at Black Bull bar in Paceville a long time ago.

Alfred has owned a Mercedes since 2017, a Kia Avella and a BMW. He has also owned the sea vessel Maya since 2017. He bought the vessel for €30,000 in cash. He also paid €800 a month in rent for his apartment in St Paul’s Bay.