Daphne Caruana Galizia

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life and work stand as both a warning and a benchmark for anyone engaged in the fight against corruption and money laundering. 

An investigative journalist from Malta, she was assassinated by a car bomb on 16 October 2017. 

Her murder was not an isolated act of violence, it was the culmination of years spent exposing financial crime, political corruption, and the systems that allow illicit money to flow undetected through legitimate economies.

For those working in anti–money laundering (AML), financial crime compliance, and economic crime investigation, her work remains profoundly relevant.

A Journalist Who Followed the Money

Through her blog, Running Commentary, she pursued financial truth with extraordinary persistence. She focused on the intersection of political power, offshore finance, and regulatory failure, repeatedly demonstrating how money laundering risks materialise when transparency is weak and accountability absent.

Her determination was significantly strengthened by the Panama Papers. The leaked data revealed how offshore companies and trusts were used to obscure beneficial ownership and move money across borders. She  took this information and connected it directly to Maltese political and commercial actors  transforming leaked data into actionable public accountability.

Among the most significant issues she uncovered were:

• Offshore companies linked to senior politicians
  Using Panama Papers data, she revealed that Maltese government ministers had secret offshore companies in Panama, held through intermediaries in secrecy jurisdictions. These structures raised serious questions about conflicts of interest, unexplained wealth, and potential money laundering risks,  precisely the red flags AML frameworks are designed to detect.
• Links between offshore structures and public contracts
  She reported on how individuals connected to offshore entities were also involved in major public procurement projects, including energy deals. Her work highlighted the classic money laundering risk of state capture, where public funds and contracts intersect with opaque corporate vehicles.
• Pilatus Bank
  She persistently investigated Pilatus Bank, a Malta-based institution alleged to service politically exposed persons (PEPs) and high-risk clients. She raised concerns about lax controls, questionable transactions, and the role of the bank within Malta’s financial system, issues later echoed by international regulators.
• Payments routed through secrecy jurisdictions
  She uncovered evidence suggesting that payments linked to politically exposed individuals were routed through offshore companies and foreign accounts, bypassing transparency and effective scrutiny. These findings underscored the importance of enhanced due diligence for PEPs and cross-border transactions.
• The use of libel laws as a financial weapon
  While not money laundering in itself, the strategic use of defamation lawsuits to silence her illustrated how financial pressure can be used to suppress scrutiny. This is a reminder that financial crime ecosystems often rely on intimidation as much as complexity.

Each of these investigations reflected a deep understanding of how illicit finance operates through shell companies, nominee arrangements, cross-border transfers, and regulatory arbitrage.

The Human Cost of Financial Crime

AML work can become abstract.  Alerts, thresholds, risk scores, and reports. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life is a reminder that financial crime has real human and societal consequences. Money laundering is not merely a compliance issue, it is the financial engine of corruption, organised crime, and democratic erosion.

Her investigations showed how illicit finance undermines governance, distorts markets, and erodes trust in institutions. Ultimately, the same failures of transparency and enforcement she exposed contributed to the environment in which silencing her became possible.

Courage, Independence, and Professional Integrity

She worked under relentless pressure. At the time of her death, she faced dozens of defamation actions, constant threats, and public vilification. Despite this, she continued to publish, driven by a conviction that transparency was essential to democracy.

For AML and financial crime professionals, her experience reinforces the importance of ethical independence. Controls, policies, and systems are ineffective without individuals willing to question anomalies, escalate concerns, and withstand institutional or political pressure.

Lessons for Those Who Fight Money Laundering

Her work offers enduring lessons:

• Follow complexity, not convenience. Financial crime hides in layered structures and cross-border arrangements.
• Data must be interrogated. The Panama Papers mattered because they were analysed, connected, and pursued.
• PEPs require genuine scrutiny. Political exposure dramatically increases money laundering risk.
• Transparency is preventative.  Beneficial ownership clarity is a frontline defence.
• Silence enables harm.  Ignored red flags allow corruption to flourish.

A Legacy That Demands Vigilance

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination shocked the world, but the financial systems she exposed remain in place. Her legacy should live on in the daily work of those tasked with identifying, disrupting, and preventing money laundering.

For AML professionals, remembering her is not symbolic. It is practical and necessary. Every suspicious transaction investigated, every opaque structure challenged, and every uncomfortable escalation reflects the same pursuit of truth that defined her work.

Her voice was silenced, but the evidence she uncovered endures. Those who fight money laundering have a responsibility to ensure it continues to be heard.