Court decides against court application by Anna Zelbst for Alfred Mifsud to pay her €6,000

The Court of Magistrates yesterday decided against an application by Anna Zelbst, the former partner of the former Deputy Central Bank Governor Alfred Mifsud, where she requested that he pay her €6,000 which he allegedly pledged to do as long as their children were living with her.

Mifsud argued that it was illegitimate for Zelbst to propose the payment of maintenance for their children, as they are not minors and have legal standing. He also said that it was not true that he assumed an obligation to pay her.

He also said that he is supporting the children directly, and that he has no obligation to pay her maintenance.

Zelbst told Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo that she and Mifsud moved into her Gwardamangia residence after being in a relationship for two months, and that they had two children together, one now aged 21 and the other 18. In 2006, the couple stopped living together, and the children remained in her custody. In 2010 and 2011 Mifsud finished an apartment in Fort Cambridge and the whole family reunited until February 2016, when problems arose and Mifsud moved out.

She said that Mifsud passed on a €3,000 cheque a month between March and June to her, for her and the children. In the beginning of June however, Mifsud, through an email, told Zelbst that he met another woman and wanted to spend more time with her. Zelbst said she communicated with Mifsud and he confirmed that the €3,000 cheques will still be sent. She wanted a written declaration and asked him for one.

Zelbst said that the declaration was placed in a blue folder and filed in an unlocked bureau. These documents were also scanned onto a USB, and sent to lawyer Albert Libreri. In June 2016, she said, she had to go to Brussels and in that period, Mifsud slept in her home and allegedly took some documents. She proceeded to file a police report.

This story gained prominence when Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered on Monday, published details on her blog when Alfred Mifsud was, at the time, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, and also made a number of allegations.

Due to the fallout from the allegations, including that he lost out on €90,000 in salary as Central Bank Governor the court heard, Mifsud began giving his children €250 a week instead of a cheque to Zelbst each month.

The court noted that the case was not one to fix maintenance, but was on an obligation of credit that, according to Zelbst, ties Alfred Mifsud through a document in June 2016.

The Court refused Zelbst’s request as the document is not a contract, nor is it a private writing, but is simply a pledge to continue sending her €3,000 a month. The Magistrate noted that the law mentions three scenarios that tie someone who makes such a pledge, yet this particular case does not fall under any of them.

The court noted that the letter was a promise of his intention, which eventually since certain happenings occurred which changed the situation between the parties, resulted in the intention changing.

As such, the court concluded that the document does not bind Mifsud to pay €3,000 a month to Anna Zelbst.