Notaries warned of false documents linked to St Julian’s property sales

Notaries have been warned by their regulating body to beware false documents related to the purchase of a property in St Julian’s by a real estate company.

The documents are supposed to be public deeds of purchase by the company Axximum Investments Ltd.

The Notarial Council warned notaries in a communication seen by MaltaToday that the deeds of purchase were “falsely attributed” to be in the records of notary Joseph Abela.

Sources within the profession said Abela flagged the issue when he became aware that his name was being used on the fraudulent documents. A police investigation is underway.

Abela referred MaltaToday to the Notarial Council when contacted about the matter.

Council president Clinton Bellizzi would not comment on the case, insisting the communication was an internal early warning system for notaries.

He did confirm that a police investigation is underway.

Axximum Investments Ltd is owned by Bernard Attard and Mohab Fahmi.

According to the Notarial Council’s communication, one of the documents purporting to be deeds of acquisition referred to a particular property in Triq il-Mensija in St Julian’s.

No such deed of purchase has been registered in the public registry and neither has the Tax Commissioner been notified as required by law.

Eyebrows were raised when apartments in the same road started being offered for sale with the sales brochures prominently displaying the name of the company.

“Please remain cautious and vigilant at all times,” the council warned notaries.

Attard was last month condemned by the court to pay a former business partner almost €700,000.

The case, instituted by Vladimir Stepanov, was filed against Attard and his mother Maria Theresa Attard.

Stepanov claimed that he had gone to Attard because he was interested in entering the property market. It appears that Attard convinced Stepanov to also become a partner in a second-hand car importation business.

The pair set up two joint companies and Stepanov claimed that Attard, aided by his mother, misappropriated the funds given to him. Stepanov accused the Attards of making false promises and using falsified documents.

Attard acknowledged the wrongdoing in January 2020 and agreed to pay back Stepanov his money. However, the money was not paid back and last month the court decreed that Attard has to pay Stepanov the sum of €696,210.

The judge also ordered that her sentence be communicated to the Police Commissioner for any investigation he may deem fit.

A police spokesperson told MaltaToday that investigations into the case were still ongoing. "It wouldn’t be prudent to divulge further information," he added.