Sandstone Luxembourg presses Criminal Charges against EUobserver

In an article headed "Blood from Stone. What did British PR firm do for Malta" the EUobserver published a claim that the UK-based PR consultancy Chelgate Ltd "hired a private intelligence firm in Luxembourg called Sandstone, founded and managed by Frank Schneider, to do a report on Caruana Galizia's killing" as part of a process in which Chelgate were said to be providing briefings to targeted European media on Caruana Galizia. It claims that "excerpts of Sandstone's research, seen by EUobserver, pointed away from Muscat to exotic theories that Russian president Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev had conspired to assassinate Caruana Galizia, using a Chechen killer". This report was separately referred to in an email by Andrew Rettman of the EUobserver, when he wrote to the Chairman of Chelgate that he had "got hold of this report Sandstone did for you with all sorts (sic) of bonkers theories about the killing of Galizia".

This report led directly to significant related publicity. For example, quoting the EUobserver report, Guardian Journalist Juliette Garside tweeted: "Fake news material apparently circulated by UK pr firm @chelgate, working for the disgraced Maltese Government. It suggested the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was ordered by Vladimir Putin and the President of Azerbaijan. Cynical, unethical, bonkers".

For more information visit: https://sandstone.lu/