Notary guilty of taking capital gains tax, stamp duty monies for himself

A notary was found guilty of misappropriating almost €10,000 in capital gains tax and stamp duty money which were given to him by clients for the sale of a maisonette in Zabbar.

27 September 2012, 12:00am
by Karl Stagno-Navarra

1 min read

Notary Charles Vella Zarb, 50 of Marsascala has been handed a conditional discharge for two years, after a Court found him guilty of misappropriating funds entrusted to him as a public officer.

Vella Zarb was the Notary who oversaw a deed of sale for a maisonette in Zabbar in November 2007.

He was reported to the Police by contractor Pius Camilleri and his son Ludwig, after it transpired that although Vella Zarb had published the deed, he did not pay the Department of Inland Revenue the money they gave him to cover their share of Capital Gains Tax from the sale.

Besides the Capital Gains Tax money, Vella Zarb also did not pay the money given to him by the buyers to make good for Stamp Duty.

Investigations led by the Economic Crimes Unit found that the cheques given to Vella Zarb had been deposited in his personal account at HSBC Bank.

In handing judgement, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli said that she was conditionally discharging the Notary on the basis that he had a clean record, and that he had subsequently paid the monies due.