An elderly man who claimed the title of Grand Master of a Byzantine Order was found guilty of fabricating a letter he hoped would get him the desired promotion.

Carmelo Calleja, 76, of Rabat, was originally cleared of the charges brought against him with Magistrate Audrey Demicoli ruling that a scanned signature did not make the signature a false one.

That judgment was, however, overturned yesterday and he was given a two-year jail term suspended for three.

He had been charged with creating a fictitious letter, supposedly sent by the Gran Duca Dimitri of Russia, to get himself appointed Grand Master Vicar of the Byzantine Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The case was initiated after the police received a complaint from his main rival, Alfred Baldacchino, with whom Mr Calleja had a spat over who was the head of the Order.

He asked the police to institute criminal charges against Mr Calleja because a letter posted on the Order's website by Mr Calleja was a fake.

Mr Calleja had also been charged with lying under oath.

The Attorney General appealed the magistrate's decision, claiming that there was no doubt that the signature had been scanned and placed on a letter that had not really been written by the Grand Duke.

He referred to the testimony of the court-appointed expert, Martin Bajada, who said that the signature on the letter posted on the website was a scanned image.

The Appeals Court, presided over by Mr Justice Michael Mallia, declared that the signature was scanned and placed on the letter with intent to use as a document to cause damage to other people, including Mr Baldacchino.

Lawyers Josè Herrera and David Camilleri appeared for the accused.