Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543288
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Last week, Vella was ordered by a court to repay almost €33,000 to a woman who had entrusted him with funds for the purchase of an apartment in Senglea. It was yet another case of misappropriation by the disgraced notary. But while he serves time, on the outside his victims have been left scrambling to secure the properties they thought had been registered in their names. Association for Consumer Rights Malta President and a victim of Vella's herself, Paul- ine Azzopardi, spoke to Malt- aToday about the uphill battle she and others like her face in the wake of Vella's scam. Ombudsman recommendation ignored for years In 2023, the Ombudsman agreed that victims who had paid their dues in line with the law should be allowed to regis- ter their property. The formal opinion recommended that those who had handed over tax payments in good faith to a public notary acting as a state intermediary should not be forced to pay again. The Ombudsman also rec- ommended that the ministries involved and the Office of the State Advocate, hold discus- sions about these situations with the Notarial Council so as to introduce legal provisions and policies that provide more robust protection for the ser- vice user. "Online systems whereby tax and duty payments are made directly to the department on the same day of the publication of the contract, with the conse- quent registration of the deed should be considered, as this would provide contracting par- ties with an instant confirma- tion that the amounts due to the public exchequer have been in fact passed on to the CFR," the recommendation read. The opinion was transmitted to parliament. To date, it has not been acted upon. Victims and their represent- atives have held talks with the government notary and a num- ber of ministers, but to no avail. Many families now face what they describe as an extraordi- nary demand—pay stamp du- ty and property transfer tax a second time, despite having already paid these sums. 'Scared to pass on problems to my kids' Pauline Azzopardi, a client of Vella's, realised something was wrong about a year and a half after moving into her new home. "I wasn't aware I would need to receive a receipt from the Inland Revenue that I had paid the tax," she said. The notary had been recom- mended to her. "I never sus- pected anything wrong. He was always nice to us, always really helpful, and really charismat- ic." With properties still regis- tered on the former owners, the majority of victims have been left at their mercy. They also face the reality of having to either re-pay the tax which was never passed on to the tax au- thorities by the disgraced no- tary, or hope the government allows them to register the property without paying again. Azzopardi said she has to pay €24,000 (€8,000 owed by her, and €16,000 by the property's owner) in order to register the property to her name. She does not want to pay the sum again, hoping government intervenes to solve the issue. "What scares me is passing on my troubles to my children. They are obviously worried about me," she said. Victims seek government intervention to register homes without repaying Disbarred notary Thomas Vella is currently serving prison time after admitting to misappropriating the funds entrusted to him by 85 clients Many families now face what they describe as an extraordinary demand—pay stamp duty and property transfer tax a second time, despite having already paid these sums