The prime minister of the country says he intends to quit early next year, as investigations around the murder of a campaigning journalist and the alleged role of government figures continue.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who is mired in a crisis about the investigation into a murdered journalist, announced yesterday that he intends to resign. Muscat, facing calls to resign immediately, said he has asked the his ruling Labour Party to begin searching for a successor in January next year.

The politician has been under intense pressure to quit after a probe into the October 2017 car bomb murder of campaigning journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia prompted charges on Saturday against a prominent businessman with alleged ties to government ministers and senior officials, media outlets said. As previously reported, three senior figures have stepped down already.

Muscat said in a televised address yesterday that he was not leaving immediately, but announced a process to replace him that will start on 12 January.

As Reuters and others reported, Muscat's comments were criticised; opposition politicians said he should resign now. 

Muscat said that every day since the murder he had shouldered responsibilities in “the interests of the conclusion of the case”. He added, however, that “some decisions were good while others could have been better made”.

In power since defeating the former ruling Nationalist party in 2013, Muscat's rule has coincided with a prosperous period for Malta, a former UK colony and now a member of the European Union. The Mediterranean island has pushed itself forward as an international financial centre. Signs of this growth are visible in constant building construction (not always to the liking of local residents), an influx of overseas employees and projects to build new roads and widen existing ones. The country has also joined a trend of jurisdictions in running "golden visa" programmes through which citizenship can be acquired in return for a large investment. Such schemes have been criticised as potential conduits for illicit funds.

The allegations made by Caruana Galizia, that government ministers and advisors had salted away payments in Panama accounts, and taken kickbacks from foreign entities, have damaged Malta's international financial reputation. In Muscat's case, he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.