Greece detains Russian woman within Maltese journalist Caruana Galizia's death case

Police of Greece detained Russian woman Maria Efimova within the investigation of the case over the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Cyprus, BBC reports. The Russian embassy in Athens is checking the information about the detention of Efimova in one of the police departments of the Greek capital.

Efimova used to work at the Pilatus Bank and was allegedly one of the informants of Galizia, known for her investigation over corruption in the country. The Russian woman has surrendered to the police and stated that she now fears for her life. It is not reported whether the woman was intimidated.

Authorities of Malta and Cyprus have issued warrants for her arrest, but for different reasons. The Maltese one is based on an accusation by Malta-registered Pilatus Bank that she stole from the bank. The woman denies these statements.

Galizia died in October last year when her car exploded. She reported on Malta for the Panama Papers investigation into offshore accounts which conceal secret payments to politicians and other powerful figures, including the Prime Minister of Malta. Prime Minister Muscat and his wife Michelle have denied the allegations against them. They have dismissed the allegation that $1m was transferred to Michelle from Azerbaijan's ruling family, the Aliyevs, via a secret offshore firm in Panama.