Jewish Community of Lisbon reports signature forgery in unauthorized documents and files complaint against those responsible.
Lisbon, January 28, 2025 – The Jewish Community of Lisbon (CIL) informs that the signatures of its President, David Joffe Botelho, and its Treasurer, José Ruah, were forged and used in a document, written in both Portuguese and Spanish, of which they were supposedly the authors. The document also features the logos of the CIL, the Government of Portugal, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to the serious crime of signature forgery and the improper and unauthorized use of official logos, the document in question states that "two months ago, we sent the Portuguese nationality certificates to the addresses of each person in their respective cities and countries." This raises suspicions that previous acts of signature forgery may have occurred.
The CIL leadership became aware of the existence of this document today, dated December 28, after it was forwarded to the Community's email by a sender who, suspecting its authenticity, referred it to the administrative services. All received electronic correspondence will be handed over to the authorities.
Following this serious incident, which will be the subject of an official complaint, the CIL will urgently request a meeting with the Ministry of Justice.
