Billion-Dollar Real Estate Scandal Rocks Casablanca

At the heart of the case is a major real estate project located in the Aïn Chock district, which has been at a standstill for years. Dozens of plaintiffs are currently taking turns at the judicial police offices to testify. Many claim to have paid substantial down payments, sometimes since 2012, for apartments or land that have never been delivered. In total, nearly 500 people would be affected, Assabah reports.

The victims denounce a possible large-scale fraud. According to their complaint, the real estate company would have collected around 2 billion dirhams in down payments, while also obtaining a bank loan of 6 billion dirhams. These funds, totaling 8 billion dirhams, would never have been truly invested in the construction. The plaintiffs describe these acts as breach of trust and misappropriation of funds.

The complaint, filed with the Attorney General, specifically names seven people: two representatives of the real estate company, the contractor in charge of the work, a financial director, a lawyer responsible for the contracts, as well as other intermediaries. The victims are asking the justice system to determine the responsibilities and identify all potential accomplices.

This collective action comes as the bank that financed the project has itself initiated legal proceedings. Having already obtained a favorable judgment in the commercial court, condemning those responsible to pay it 485 million dirhams, it has also filed a criminal complaint for misappropriation of funds. The bank has initiated seizure procedures on the real estate assets used as collateral.

The investigation, now expanded, will therefore have to retrace the path of the considerable sums invested in this aborted project. The judicial police investigations will extend not only to the real estate company, but also to the construction company, the lawyer and all the actors suspected of having benefited from the misappropriated funds.