In another embarrassment for Portugal’s border control agency SEF, a court has heard how the Iman of Porto’s mosque used forged papers to get Portuguese residency.
Abdelkader Mustaphi – known locally as Abdul Kadir – has been the top man in the city’s mosque for the last four years, reports Jornal de Notícias.
He is Moroccan and arrived in Portugal in 2001 aged 22, says the paper. His transgression – along with the same form of falsification by 12 other defendants – has been acknowledged with a fine (130 days at €12 per day: a total of €1560).
The only custodial sentence was given to the so-called leader of the scam, Portuguese Bruno Serafim, sent to prison for five years
Penafiel court heard how Serafim issued false wage slips and work contracts in the name of his company Grande Caminhada, Lda, which Mustaphi and others then used in order to prove their eligibility to seek permanent Portuguese residency.
CM adds that Mustaphi has “not shown remorse” for his crime. He appears nonetheless free to remain in Portugal as do all the other defendants, also from Morocco, who appeared with him.
