Back in Lisbon, why the Abu Salem file is not quite a shut case

In fight for Salem assets, Portuguese lawyer takes 15,000 euros, Mercedes jeep as fee, Indian lawyer says not on

This is one European capital where living is not very expensive, the climate excellent, its immigration laws simple and lifestyle very relaxed. That is why Abu Salem and Monika Bedi, using fake passports, made Lisbon their home before a final flight, perhaps, to London to fulfill his dream of opening an Indian restaurant.

While in Lisbon, Abu Salem worked as a car dealer and began exporting expensive watches to Colombo. But a few months into the idyllic holiday, they were detected, put behind bars and eventually extradited to Mumbai.

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The Abu Salem case file may have been shut by top-notch solicitors the Indian government hired to fight his extradition, but a bitter legal squabble continues in Lisbon for ownership of the assets and the money he left behind. Rui Patricio, the solicitor who headed a team of lawyers to fight the extradition case, recalls how they succeeded in freezing Salem’s bank accounts and the Mercedes jeep he drove. “Everything was seized but was subsequently released by the Portuguese government. We hear there are many claimants for the assets now.”

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In fact, it is the Indian and Portuguese lawyers — who were jointly given a power of attorney by Abu Salem from Mumbai to recover his assets — who have fallen out and are now filing claims and counter-claims. The Portuguese government had frozen 95,000 euros in cash and had detained his jeep which his lawyer in Mumbai, Ashok Sarogi, says has an equal value.

“On Abu Salem’s instructions, I paid 6,000 euros to get the assets defrozen but the Portuguese lawyer has cheated us. I have now filed a recovery case against him in Lisbon and on my request 80,000 euros from Abu Salem’s money has been left untouched,” Sarogi told The Indian Express. He says the Portuguese lawyer, Luis Belo Morais, was to be paid 2,000 euros for the recovery case but has “usurped” 15,000 euros.

But Luis Belo Morais told The Indian Express a very different story. “I have taken 15,000 euros and possession of the jeep as my fees. I am happy with this. But even to keep this I was being threatened and called a cheat. In fact, after his return, Abu Salem’s friends and relatives have been after his assets like vultures.”

According to Luis Morais, he easily got the Mercedes jeep recovered from court but was subsequently informed by the authorities that its licence plates had expired. “The authorities have told me I cannot use the car till I get an authorization from Abu Salem. But Abu Salem is in jail and I have no contact with him. So the Mercedes is standing in my garage. It is of no use for me,” he says.

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While Luis Belo Morais says he is not involved in the legal dispute over Salem’s assets, courts in Lisbon will now have to decide who will get the remaining 80,000 euros. Sarogi is planning a trip to Lisbon shortly to sort out the issue and will also try and recover the Mercedes jeep from Rui Patricio.

He also has the authorization of Abu Salem to approach Sabhina, Salem’s estranged wife in the US, and make an assessment of the value of the properties, which include gas stations and a shopping centre. “Even as Abu Salem’s trial is in progress in Mumbai, it is the fight for his assets in Portugal which is taking up a lot of my time.”