Prominent Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who was arrested by police as a person of interest in the murder of an anti-corruption journalist, has asked for a pardon in return for information about the case, police sources said.
He is the second man to seek a pardon after Melvin Theuma, under arrest on suspicion of having been a middleman in the murder, made a similar request earlier in the week.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has already agreed to give a pardon to Mr Theuma if he gives full information that could be used in court.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb on 16 October 2017.
Three men are awaiting trial accused of having set off the bomb, but police have yet to identify who commissioned the murder.
Mr Fenech was intercepted on his yacht as he tried to leave Malta on Wednesday, shortly after news of Mr Theuma's arrest was made public.
Maltese Economy Minister Christian Cardona was briefly questioned today in connection with the murder investigation, an official source close to the minister told Reuters.
The Economy Ministry later said in a statement: "Chris Cardona was asked to provide some clarifications, including on speculations that were made about him in the past."
It made no comment on the nature of the speculations.
Mr Cardona had been a frequent target of Ms Caruana Galizia's blog posts, and had sued her after she accused him of visiting a brothel while on official business abroad. He has always denied the accusation.
Maltese media reported that Mr Theuma had incriminating recordings about the murder in his possession and that these had now been handed to a magistrate. The police have not confirmed the reports.
Lawyers for Mr Theuma and Mr Fenech have not yet made any official comment on the case.
