In court: Abou-Chaker’s brother accuses Bushido of “perverse plan”

In the dispute between the rapper Bushido and his former business partner Arafat Abou-Chaker over shared real estate, one of Abou-Chaker’s brothers has made drastic accusations against the musician. Bushido’s “perfidious and perverse plan” is to portray himself as a victim, the brother said in the civil trial before the Higher Regional Court of Brandenburg an der Havel on Wednesday. Against the backdrop of alleged blackmail and threats, Bushido is assuming the role of victim and is also carrying this impression into the trial over the shared company – according to the motto “Give me everything”.

The trial concerns seven houses that both men had bought together in Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg. After several disputes, both men want to part ways. Most recently, the Berlin Regional Court acquitted Arafat Abou-Chaker of charges of violence against Bushido in a criminal trial. The Berlin public prosecutor’s office appealed against the verdict. The rapper was not present at the trial in Brandenburg on Wednesday.

Abou-Chaker: “How cheeky he is”

Abou-Chaker’s lawyers made it clear on Wednesday that they believe Arafat’s acquittal following Bushido’s accusations of violence should also play a role in the assessment of the civil case. In their opinion, there is currently no concrete reason to exclude Arafat Abou-Chaker from the joint company. Arafat Abou-Chaker accused Bushido of lying in court.

The two were close friends for years. Abou-Chaker was best man at Bushido’s wedding. They bought a property together near Berlin to move in with their families. The two were also seen together at public events. In 2017, the relationship broke up. Since then, subsequent disputes have been preoccupying the courts.

After the split in the music business and the falling out, they tried to wind up the real estate deal quietly, said Arafat’s brother on Wednesday. Then, according to him, the “war of accusations” began. The family was “torn apart” in court for four years. Bushido lied and fired Arafat’s brother as his agent for the real estate deals. “Look how cheeky he is,” said the Abou-Chaker family member on Wednesday.

The thing with the 180,000 euros

Bushido, whose real name is Anis Mohamed Ferchichi, cited the reason for his termination as being that his brother had taken 180,000 euros from the company’s assets without authorization. Arafat Abou-Chaker and his brother vehemently deny this. They say there had been mutual agreements beforehand and that the money had been used to pay bills for the shared property in Kleinmachnow.

The aforementioned 180,000 euros were also at issue today before the Higher Regional Court. According to Arafat’s brother, in March 2018, bills for the property they shared in Kleinmachnow urgently needed to be paid. Bushido was unable to manage this at the time. Arafat, his brother and Bushido then agreed to tap the company account for this. “Then withdraw the money, then we’ll have one less problem,” Arafat’s brother describes the situation about six years ago.

Three weeks later, he picked up the money for the two of them – partly because Bushido was “simply lazy,” said the Abou-Chaker family member. The mood between the parties in the joint real estate business was “completely normal.” “I wasn’t at all interested in what they did musically,” the brother explained. The dispute over the music business initially had no effect on the real estate company.

The trial is part of a series of legal disputes between the two. In another civil case against his ex-business partner for a sum of millions, Bushido won in February. The court found that there had been no management contract between the two.