A series of bank transfers for notarial deeds and the payment of tax due on signed agreements by the widow of notary Ivan Barbara prove the link between the two in alleged misappropriation and fraud, clients have insisted.

They said these bank transfers, as well as a company held jointly by the couple and deals in property and other dealings in antiques and artifacts, contradict Rosanne Barbara Zarb’s assertions that she was extraneous to her husband’s notarial profession.

Matthew Sacco, Simon Mallia and Valerie Mallia, who had handed Barbara cheques amounting to a total of €30,650 - in relation to promise-of-sale agreements they had signed - filed a reply to Barbara Zarb’s appeal from a magistrate’s ruling for an inquiry into possible misappropriation and fraud allegedly committed by the late notary.

In her appeal, Barbara Zarb, who renounced her husband’s inheritance, said the clients had not proved the link between her and the notary’s alleged wrongdoing. The only link, she said, was that she had been married to him.

The notary died suddenly of COVID-19 after having contracted the virus in India earlier this year, while he was visiting the country to adopt a child.

In their application filed last August, the three clients said they had deposited thousands of euros with notary Barbara and their money is nowhere to be seen. More clients have come forward since then. But the notary’s widow said there was absolutely no evidence to back what is being alleged.

She said even though the application mentions fraud and misappropriation, there is no allegation that the said amounts were entrusted or passed on to her, or that they were, in any way, received by her.

She explained she is an accountant by profession and throughout her 19-year marriage, they exercised their respective professions separately and independently of each other, kept separate bank accounts, except for one joint account from where they paid their daily family expenses and did not interfere in each other’s work.

In his reply, the clients’ lawyer, David Bonello, said a close look at the widow’s bank statements shows several payments and bank transfers seemingly done on behalf of her husband. Apart from sharing the same block of offices, there were a number of payments described as “operational needs”, where office expenses were shared.

Moreover, there were several deposits described as “notarial fees” that she had received directly in her bank account on behalf of her husband. There were also a number of cheque deposits which only an inquiry could determine where they came from and what they covered.

For example, on December 1 last year she paid the salary of the notary who worked with her husband, she had received a payment of €700 in July 2020 listed as “payment to notary Ivan Barbara” as well as similar deposits of €800 in May and in March. On April 7, she received a payment in her bank account for “notary fees” amounting to €300. The clients said these showed a clear direct link between the husband and wife.

Moreover, research they had carried out revealed the existence of a company, GBR Limited, of which the husband and wife were shareholders and directors. They said it was only a magisterial inquiry that could delve into the company’s financial affairs.

The notary and his wife were involved in the development of a property block in Tarxien and also dealt in antiques and art.   

Bonello said that by trying to shift the blame onto a notary who worked in her husband’s office, Barbara Zarb was “indirectly admitting that the alleged crimes had taken place”. This notary could shed light on the matter and can testify in the magisterial inquiry.

They also said that they had been inundated with calls from other clients who, like them, had lost the money they had deposited with the notary. These clients were willing to testify in the magisterial inquiry and the total sum runs into “hundreds of thousands of euros”.

They, therefore, called on the appeals court to confirm the magistrate’s order for an inquiry.