Bushido wins the dispute with the ex-manager and collects millions.Image: imago
January 21, 2026, 5:10 p.mJanuary 21, 2026, 5:10 p.m
After years of court battles, it is clear: Bushido’s ex-manager has to pay the rapper millions in income.
The Berlin Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by Arafat Abou-Chaker against a ruling by the Berlin Regional Court from September 2023, thereby confirming its decision, as a court spokesman announced.
Arafat Abou-Chaker was formerly the manager of Bushido. Image: imago
According to the verdict, the 49-year-old has to pay almost 1.8 million euros plus interest to Bushido. The background is that, from the court’s point of view, there was no management contract between the two. The German rapper would therefore not have had to pay the sum to his business partner at the time, who is considered the Berlin clan boss.
According to the court order, Abou-Chaker must pay the costs of the trial. The 2nd Civil Senate has set the amount in dispute for the appeal process at just over 3 million euros, as the spokesman said. This could result in significantly more than 200,000 euros in addition.
That’s what the trial was about
The key question in the complex proceedings was whether Abou-Chaker was Bushido’s business partner or manager. The Berlin Regional Court ruled in September 2023 that there was no management contract between the two. That’s why Abou-Chaker has to pay, as the next higher authority has now decided.
A written agreement between the two would be “against common decency”. According to the judges, he restricted “both the defendant’s economic options for action and his artistic scope for decision-making in an immoral manner.”
Old times: Former managers Arafat Abou-Chaker and Bushido at a film premiere in 2010.Image: imago
The process was initiated by the former companion himself: he demanded income from Bushido, whose real name was Anis Mohamed Ferchichi, from their successful time together. The rapper defended himself against the million dollar claim with a so-called re-suit – successfully.
A so-called default judgment was issued as early as April 2023. This is the case in civil proceedings if a party involved does not appear at the hearing or does not submit an application. The latter was the reason for the default judgment. Abou-Chaker has so far unsuccessfully fought against this decision.
According to the court spokesman, the decision is not legally binding. In order for the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) to deal with this, Abou-Chaker would have to overcome a legal hurdle: the judges initially did not allow an appeal.
Numerous court cases
Bushido and his long-time partner once posed on red carpets; it was hard to miss them in the music industry. Since the split in 2017, courtrooms have increasingly become their stage.
For years, the focus of the dispute was a criminal trial before the Berlin district court, including possible violence and other crimes. Bushido was a witness and co-plaintiff in the criminal proceedings – a large part of the allegations were based on the musician’s statements.
Arafat Abou-Chaker in the courtroom 2020.Image: imago
However, around three and a half years after the trial began, the judges acquitted Abou-Chaker of the main allegations in February 2024. However, the 49-year-old has to pay a fine of tens of thousands of euros because he recorded conversations. The BGH confirmed this judgment at the end of last year. This means a fine of 81,000 euros (90 daily rates of 900 euros each) is due.
Further proceedings between the two former business partners, including because of joint real estate transactions, have also recently been dealt with by courts in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. (sda/dpa)