A 62-year-old notary today denied misappropriating over €4,000 of his clients’ money that should have been used to pay taxes on a house transfer but was allegedly used to settle other dues.

Philip Said, of Siġġiewi, is accused of misappropriation, failing to carry out his duties and committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent. He pleaded not guilty.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla told Magistrate Carol Peralta that he began investigating a report filed by Antoine Bonello on March 17.

Joseph and Innocenza Bonello wanted Dr Said to draft a contract for the donation of a house in Siġġiewi to their son, Antoine. The contract was dated December 29, 2013 and Antoine Bonello issued a €3,262 cheque addressed to the Commissioner for Inland Revenue to cover capital gains tax.

He issued another cheque of €630 for the notary’s fees and a separate one for €113.52 to cover VAT on notarial fees, leaving them blank on Dr Said’s instructions, Inspector Abdilla said.

Dr Said said not registering the contract had been an ‘oversight’

When Mr Bonello said he did not receive a receipt from the Inland Revenue Department and when he checked on the contract discovered it had never been registered.

Mr Bonello tried in vain to contact the notary, leaving him no option but to report the matter to the police.

When Dr Said was arrested, he admitted the contract had never been registered but said it was an “an oversight”, the inspector said. However, he also admitted the cheque addressed to inland revenue had been used to cover tax related to another contract. He told police he was financially tight and needed a few weeks to settle his dues with the Bonellos.

The court also heard that the two blank cheques had been cashed by Dr Said’s colleague, notary Peter Carbonaro, who said Dr Said had asked him to do so as he was going through a separation and his wife was keeping an eye on his earnings. Inspector Abdilla said the police had received other complaints against Dr Said and there were pending criminal proceedings against him.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud was defence counsel.