Casablanca Court Takes Over "Bab Darna" Real Estate Fraud Case, Sentences Could Reach 20 Years

The investigating judge, since February 3, had declared his incompetence to handle this case, following a request raised in January by the victims. Their defense, in a petition, estimated that the facts alleged against certain defendants could be qualified as "crimes", and not "offenses"; and that in this matter, "the competence belongs to the Criminal Chamber at the Casablanca Court of Appeal".

As part of this case, seven arrests have been made since the beginning of November 2019. The director of the Bab Darna company, Mohamed El Ouardi, is incarcerated in the Oukacha prison in Casablanca, in pre-trial detention. The financial director of the mirage project, its commercial director, a salesman and an accountant, as well as the notary, are also behind bars, reports barlamane.com.

The "Bab Darna" case is a major real estate scam that has erupted, exposing the bad faith of the developers who would have received millions of dirhams from many people who believed they were acquiring housing.