The owner of a major television production company has been investigated for links with figures from a suspected organised crime group convicted of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.
Transaction records from production company WE Media show €207,000 in payments went to the wife of Robert Agius, who married into the ‘Ta’ Maksar’ family.
The records were analysed by journalists from Times of Malta, OCCRP and Amphora Media.
Robert Agius has been convicted for supplying the bomb used to assassinate Caruana Galizia in October 2017.
The payments to his wife Denise were found mixed among legitimate business transactions by WE Media (previously Where’s Everybody), which was best known for producing popular TV shows like Xarabank in the past.
Fellow suspected gang member Jamie Vella, who was also convicted over the journalist’s assassination, appears to have passed on payments to the partner of a convicted drug trafficker via WE Media’s accounts.
WE Media’s owner Edmond Mugliett is the subject of multiple intelligence reports focusing on suspect financial transactions and, according to one July 2022 report, “participation in an organised criminal group.”
That same year, a court authorised an investigation order sought by the Attorney General compelling all local banks and financial institutions to hand over any financial information they have on Mugliett, WE Media, and five other companies linked to him.
The order was approved due to a “reasonable suspicion” that Mugliett was involved in money laundering and handling the proceeds of crime.
Sources familiar with the investigation told Times of Malta that the probe is “ongoing” and Mugliett has already been questioned by the police over the reasons behind these payments to Denise Agius.
Edmond Mugliett has been questioned about the payments by police, sources say.The WE Media owner did not respond to questions when contacted by reporters. The police did not respond to a request for comment about the status of the investigation.
‘Consultancy fees’ and loans
Agius received €207,000 from WE Media split across 63 different payments between November 2016 and September 2021.
By August 2019, Agius was receiving a monthly net salary of €4,000.
Apart from the payments between WE Media and Denise Agius, Mugliett is also linked to a company owned by Agius.
While employed at WE Media, corporate records show Denise Agius is the sole owner of an active property development company called Ages Investments.
The company was registered in 2017 and lists Mugliett’s residential address as its corporate base.
Since being set up, Ages Investments went on to be involved in €2.8 million worth of property deals.
The company was funded, in part, by a €1.3 million loan taken out from Finance House, a company founded by car dealer turned financier James Zammit.
Apart from property purchases and settling debts, the loan was used by Ages Investments to buy a high-performance Mercedes GTR track car worth €190,000 from Zammit.
Investigators note how Zammit appears to be “closely connected” to the Maksar family.
When contacted, Zammit strongly denied having ever engaged in any illicit arrangements with the family or anyone else.
He said prior to successfully taking his companies public in 2024, the FIAU, MFSA, stock exchange and other bodies, who work in tandem with the police, carried out a “very meticulous” due diligence exercise over 14 months.
Zammit further emphasised that he is unaware of any police investigation in his regard, and has never been questioned by police.
‘The accountant’
A January 2022 intelligence report indicates that Mugliett was helping Denise Agius recover money allegedly owed to her husband by Zammit.
According to the report, Robert Agius used to give Zammit vehicles to sell on his behalf, to prevent his name from appearing on any paperwork.
The report says Denise Agius was seeking to close the “business relationship” with Zammit, and transfer any money owed to her husband into her account, following his arrest in the Caruana Galizia murder case.
Mugliett met with Zammit to broker the transfer of funds allegedly owed to Robert Agius, so they could instead be paid into Denise Agius’s account, the report says.
Robert Agius has been convicted for supplying the bomb used to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier.Zammit denies having any business relationship with Robert Agius, or selling cars on his behalf.
He told reporters the meeting with Mugliett, who he described as Denise Agius’s “accountant”, was about the €1.3 million loan.
Payments linked to drug trafficker
Encrypted communications in the hands of investigators point towards another alleged Maksar gang member, Jamie Vella, being able to use WE Media accounts to pass on payments to a convicted drug trafficker via his girlfriend.
Vella was convicted along with Robert Agius of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder.
The communication shows Vella was chased by drug trafficker Ronald Galea for money to be paid into the “usual account” on several instances in 2020.
Galea was arrested in Albania in 2017 and convicted for drug trafficking.
As proof of payment, Vella sent Galea three bank transfer confirmation documents from WE Media’s Bank of Valletta account.
Jamie Vella has been sentenced to life in prison for two murders. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier.The transfer confirmation documents sent by Vella were printed by “Edmond Mugliette”.
They show the money was transferred to Edina Szegvari. Galea’s Facebook posts from June 2024 show he’s in a romantic relationship with a woman by that name.
At least €11,000 was paid to Szegvari by WE Media across four transactions. A different reason was given for every payment, ranging from “refund of expenses” to “salary” and “deposit”.
Investigation documents also list several recipients of funds from Denise and Robert: one of them is Edina Szegvari, who received €1,000 from both of them in 2014 and 2015. Jamie Vella and Adrian Agius are also listed among the recipients of funds from Denise Agius.
Asked about the WE Media transactions, a Bank of Valletta spokesperson said the bank is unable to comment publicly on client matters due to data protection regulations.
“We reaffirm that we have in place very strong due diligence and credit governance processes that meet regulatory requirements and expectations,” the spokesperson said.
Mugliett appears to also have had dealings with Robert Agius’s brother Adrian, who has been convicted for ordering the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop over a €750,000 debt dispute.
Both Mugliett and Adrian Agius were involved in More Supermarkets, which collapsed in 2014 under a mountain of debt.
Communications obtained by investigators indicate Mugliett’s relationship with Adrian Agius continued after the fallout of More Supermarkets going bust.
When Agius was facing questions about the legitimacy of his funds from e-payments firm Revolut in 2019, it was Mugliett he turned to, according to communications recovered by investigators.
Mugliett coached him through his replies and advised Agius against giving a copy of his tax returns.
Agius also appeared to rely on Mugliett to handle some of his business interests.
In a 2018 discussion, the pair discussed rejigging Agius’ shareholding in a particular company, in a way that would avoid attracting attention.
Undeclared ‘cash’
Another intelligence report about Mugliett details how he was caught with €38,000 in undeclared cash while travelling from Malta to Turkey in December 2021. The cash stash, according to the report, included €30,000 worth of €500 notes.
Eurozone banks stopped issuing €500 notes in 2019, amid concerns that the notes made it easier for criminals to transport large amounts of cash.
Apart from the police investigation, Mugliett was recently hit with a €1.8 million bill by the tax authorities.
The tax commissioner filed a judicial letter against Mugliett in January 2024, ordering him to pay the €1.8 million balance within two days.