Cheated clients ask police to investigate dead notary’s widow for alleged perjury

Two former clients of notary Ivan Barbara have asked the police to investigate his wife, claiming she lied in a court reply to their legal action

10 May 2022, 11:10am
by Staff Reporter

2 min read

The late notary Ivan Barbara (left) and his wife Rosanne Barbara Zarb

Two clients of deceased notary Ivan Barbara are claiming that his widow lied in a court application and are asking the police commissioner to investigate her.

In a complaint filed on Tuesday, Simon and Lucianne Mallia referred to the sworn reply by the widow Rosanne Barbara Zarb to their court application in which they had requested a magisterial inquiry.

The couple are alleging that Barbara Zarb “lied” and should be investigated and charged for perjury.
The complaint was signed by lawyer David Bonello and comes in the wake of the ongoing saga involving Barbara’s clients, who were left high and dry after he died.

Barbara died in India last year from COVID-19 while on a journey with his wife to adopt a child.

Clients who had used his notarial services for promise of sale agreements were left without their deposits running into thousands of euros.

In August last year, Barbara’s clients had asked the court to initiate a magisterial inquiry whether their funds were misappropriated or fraudulently used by the notary and his wife.

In January this year, 23 of the notary's clients sued Barbara Zarb, in a bid to recover some €165,000 in deposits and unpaid taxes related to property contracts.

When the court application was filed, Barbara Zarb had informed them that their request to get back deposits left with her late husband would be delayed due to complications in the issuance of Barbara’s death certificate, caused by the fact that he had died in India.

However, even after the certificate was issued, Barbara Zarb continued to react to their requests for reimbursement by saying that the “process was still underway”. Another notary who previously worked in Barbara’s office eventually informed them that Barbara Zarb had renounced her inheritance.

The former clients also claimed that they had evidence that Barbara’s office continued to operate after his death and that Rosanne Barbara Zarb had “performed acts as though she was an heir and therefore had tacitly accepted her husband’s inheritance”. They asked the court to order Barbara Zarb to repay the money owed to them with interest.