Government wary of setting precedent, refuses to reimburse defrauded man

The government is stoutly refusing to reimburse a man who was defrauded by his notary, because it would set a precedent.

Despite providing evidence to the Inland Revenue Department and filing a police report that the money he gave to his notary to pay the succession tax, was instead used to pay somebody else’s tax dues, Albert Mamo has not been given the money back and the tax department insists that he should make the payment anew.  

“Once again a senior government official admitted that I should be given back the money which is rightfully mine, however the government is wary of this as it would set a precedent and it would cost the government a fortune to pay all the people who have been defrauded,” Mamo told MaltaToday.

A meeting was held this week between Mamo’s representatives and the finance ministry’s permanent secretary, Alfred Camilleri, but so far no agreement has been reached.

Yet, Mamo insists he will not throw in the towel and said “I will not give up the fight especially since a notary, who is a public official, defrauded me and my money was cashed in by the tax department.”

“If a shopkeeper does not pass on the VAT he collected from his customers, the clients are not expected to repay the tax and the VAT department does not prosecute them but the shopkeeper. However, in this case the government is expecting me to repay the money,” Mamo added.  

He has raised the issue with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, finance minister Edward Scicluna and justice minister Owen Bonnici. However, while everybody acknowledges that Mamo has been defrauded, a reimbursement is not on the cards.

In a text message, Scicluna told Mamo, “Albert it seems you have been robbed on the way to pay the IRD. We are prosecuting the robber for fraud. You have to get the money from the fraudster by a civil case. In the meantime you owe the IRD money. These are the facts. If there was a legal way to get you the money back, we would. There isn’t.”

Notary to be disbarred

The Maltese Notarial Council has told MaltaToday that it has initiated the process to disbar the notary who is being accused of defrauding Mamo.

The notary, Philip Said, was given six months to regularise his position and register all deeds and contracts in his possession.
During the six-month period, Said could not register new deeds and after failing to regularise his position the council has initiated court proceedings to have the notary disbarred.

Mamo’s case was not the first involving Said and the police have received other complaints against Said and he is facing separate court proceedings.

Council trusted with reform proposal
The notarial council has been entrusted with proposing a reform in the sector.
The council is drawing up plans on how tax payments can be made more secure while the monitoring process is being tightened.

The review process, which for years was not enforced, now demands a yearly audit of all deeds and contracts registered by notaries.
This review is then passed on to the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts, which has the authority to visit and inspect archives, the Public Registry and the offices of notaries as well as to apply disciplinary sanctions.

The finance ministry is also looking into the possibility of allowing customers to make duty and tax payments directly themselves but the council has now been entrusted to draw up proposals to streamline payments.

Although the council is not keen on having people making direct payments, the proposals under consideration include electronic payments.