Last updated Wednesday 9.57am with sons' reaction

Daphne Caruana Galizia's sons have reacted after the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers ruled out taking any additional measures with regards to the murder of the journalist, money-laundering allegations and protection to whistleblowers in Malta.

They said, among other things, that it was a mistake by the Maltese government to celebrate anything it perceives as passivity from the international community when it comes to the assassination of Caruana Galizia.

The council's ministerial body was asked by Dutch member Pieter Omtzigt whether the CoE would request formal explanations from the Maltese government on the police's failure to investigate evidence of money laundering by government officials and their relatives, on its failure to adequately protect Ms Caruana Galizia and on the protection it intends to afford to the relevant whistleblowers.

The committee said it was confident that the Maltese authorities "will continue to make appropriate use of all the means and mechanisms in place both in the Council of Europe and at domestic level and in full respect with the fundamental values and standards of the Council of Europe".

It said that since Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated, the Maltese delegation had twice provided information on the steps taken by the authorities on this issue and on the results achieved at this stage.

"As far as the allegations which the Honourable Parliamentarian refers to are concerned, the delegation of Malta indicated that they were the object of an ongoing judicial inquiry. It also informed the Committee of Ministers of the Commissioner for Human Rights’ visit to Malta in November 2017 and of the report thereon, of the upcoming visit by GRECO, to be followed by a monitoring evaluation by MONEYVAL.

"The delegation of Malta explained that the necessary investigations are being conducted by independent judicial bodies and in full co-operation with all competent Council of Europe mechanisms in place. It expressed its commitment to keep the Committee of Ministers fully informed of any conclusions to be reached."

While the Prime Minister's head of communications Kurt Farrugia welcomed the decision, Ms Caruana Galizia's son Matthew was bitterly disappointed.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Caruana Galizia's sons Matthew, Andrew, and Paul observed that the Maltese government was quick to celebrate anything it perceived as passivity from the international community about the assassination.

"That is a mistake. The world is shocked by what happened and will never look at Malta the same way again- not until we, as a country, confront head-on the criminal forces that have usurped the state.

"The first step is to acknowledge that we have a deep problem with corruption and impunity, and that our institutions lack the independence and capacity to do
anything about it.

"We should welcome—request, even—international scrutiny," they said.

"A conservative response to an MP by a group of ambassadors in Strasbourg,
including our own, is not cause for celebration by government officials, especially
when that reply is based on open deceit. There is no such thing as ‘judicial
investigations’ in Malta and there can be no judicial prosecution. Neither are any sort of investigations whatsoever open into any of Daphne Caruana Galizia's reporting, with the one exception of a magistrate seeking to pin down a
declaration of trust showing that Michelle Muscat is the beneficial owner of Egrant Inc, evidence which was clearly spirited out of the country over a year ago.

"That the police are not investigating any of this is unprecedented in Maltese history and a scandal in itself, now that our mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia, the person who first reported on this, has been executed before our eyes."