A disgraced former notary has been handed a two-year prison term for making a false declaration, with a court saying he had committed his crimes “shamelessly and without love for his profession”.
Pierre Falzon, 56, who continued to serve as a notary until 2012, was facing prosecution for the falsification of a public act as well as for having made a false declaration or certificate.
The case stemmed from a 2004 contract concerning the transfer of property by Alan Jones Briffa, on behalf of B. Kam Holdings Ltd, in favour of Joseph Cassar and his wife for the original price of Lm38,000 (€88,000).
Shortly after, the parties cancelled part of the sale so that the final value of the transfer was reduced to Lm19,500 (€45,400). Of that amount, Lm3,800 (€8,850) was handed over to Mr Briffa on the promise of sale.
Following the signing of the final deed in March 2004, Mr and Mrs Cassar had paid the outstanding balance of Lm15,700 (€38,500) after being reassured by their notary, Mr Falzon, that the relative searches had been carried out.
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The couple paid Mr Briffa further sums for additional works to the property and a deed of constitution of debt was signed between the parties for the value of Lm35,000 (€81,500) with a relative hypothec registered in favour of Mr Cassar.
But subsequent checks at the public registry revealed that at the time of the sale, the property had been subject to three hypothecs in favour of HSBC Bank.
Moreover, the purchaser found out that although the value of the hypothec had been written as “thirty-five thousand Maltese liri”, the corresponding value in figures had been penciled in as “3,506.”
Mr Cassar felt cheated by his notary, Mr Falzon, who had allegedly acted in the interest of the vendor.
On the basis of all evidence produced in the course of criminal proceedings, the court concluded that the second charge, relative to the making of a false declaration, had been sufficiently proved, clearing the accused of the other charges.
Not only had the notary registered a hypothec for a consideration known to have been false, but when doing so the amount declared was different from that stated in words on the contract, magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech concluded.
In doing so, Mr Falzon had breached his professional duties which were essentially structured upon “integrity, honesty and sincerity.”
Such wrongdoing unjustly shed a negative light upon other notaries who performed their duties in line with their oath of profession, the court pointed out, before pronouncing the accused guilty and imposing a two-year effective jail term.
The court also placed the former notary under a general perpetual interdiction.