Me Emile-Haim Benamor. Photo: Archive
A fire took place last Thursday in a heritage building in Old Montreal, located near the Pointes-à-Callière museum. The owner of the building is the businessman and lawyer Emile Haim Benamor.
The building housed 14 residential units in total. Sources told Radio-Canada that the tenants had been pressured by the landlord to leave their accommodation. Over time, the apartments turned into places of short-term accommodation.
The owner of the building did not hold a tourist residence operating certificate, said Alain Vaillancourtresponsible for public security at the City of Montreal.
“Here in Ville-Marie, there is a small sector that allows Airbnbs, but in the sector of the burned building, it is not authorized. The Ville-Marie borough has never received an Airbnb-type occupancy request for this building, nor has we ever received an official complaint indicating that there were illegal Airbnbs,” said Alain. Vaillancourt.
The owner of the building, Emile-Haim Benamor, a lawyer, did not respond to interview requests. Commander Steve Belzil said he was met by the police on Friday, and that he “helped profile the floors and units”.
A serious fire broke out Thursday morning in a building on rue du Port, in Old Montreal. Source: Radio-Canada / Simon-Marc Charron
Me Benamor is the owner of Immeubles Emile Benamor. However, it is not known how many units this company owns.
In 2021, the lawyer pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges before the Court of Quebec. The businessman had to pay a hefty fine of $136,180 in addition to all taxes due to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and interest.
According to an investigation conducted by the CRA, Me Benamor “deliberately omitted to declare income from 21 bank drafts cashed in a personal account and totaling $469,591”. These amounts came from fraudulent schemes, unbeknownst to the lawyer.
With Radio Canada
