Notary Ivan Barbara's widow held liable for unpaid debt by court

The widow of notary Ivan Barbara has been found liable by a court for an unpaid client deposit held by her late husband.

A court ordered widow Rosanne Barbara Zarb and her late husband’s estate to repay €15,000 to a client who had paid the sum as a deposit to the notary for a property contract in 2020.

Apart from this case, there are several other angry clients who are still seeking to recover deposits made for property contracts they had paid Barbara, prior to his death.

Barbara died of Covid-19 in 2021, while on a trip with his wife to India, where the couple was finalising the adoption of a baby girl.

Following his death, 23 clients sued Barbara Zarb in a bid to recover some €165,000 in deposits and unpaid taxes related to property contracts.

One of Barbara’s former clients, Rowena Farrugia, along with her father Edwin Buhagiar sued Barbara Zarb and her later husband’s estate in September 2021, demanding that a €15,000 deposit made in 2019, for a property contract be returned.

Gambling debts

Through her lawyers, Barbara Zarb argued that she was not responsible for the debt, as she legally renounced her late husband’s inheritance, and argued that the debt was strictly related to her husband’s practice, which she claimed she was not involved in.

Barbara Zarb also presented evidence of her late husband's gambling problem, in an attempt to prove that the missing €15,000 was a debt resulting from a willful crime of misappropriation, which would exempt her from being liable to debts. In court, she testified that she discovered messages on his phone asking a contact to place bets for him, and that he used to gamble frequently at an establishment close to his office.

Although Barbara Zarb renounced the inheritance, the court presided by Magistrate Victor G. Axiak, rejected this argument stating that under Maltese law any professional debts contracted by one spouse burden the acquest – the joint marital assets.

The court also found that Barbara Zarb did not present sufficient evidence to prove that the debt of €15,000 was a result of misappropriation as there is nothing to indicate that had Barbara still been alive, he would have been able to pay the amount back.

Therefore, the court concluded that Barbara Zarb is liable to half the debt, while the notary’s estate is responsible for the other half, ordering that they pay Farrugia €7,500 each.

In late 2022, a judge ordered that an inquiry into potential fraud committed by Barbara and his wife take place.

The judge had said the clients who requested the inquiry had presented enough evidence, at least at first glance level, that the crime of fraud and misappropriation may have been committed by the notary and his wife who they say helped him with his work.