Casablanca: A Vast Fraud System Exposed

– byMomo · 1 min read
Casablanca: A Vast Fraud System Exposed

An investigation by the Ministry of Interior reveals serious fraud in the management of advertising billboards in the Casablanca-Settat region. Between favoritism, illegal contracts and unpaid debts, municipalities are losing millions of dirhams.

The General Inspection of the Ministry of Interior has uncovered significant irregularities involving advertising companies and local elected officials. According to Al Aomk, many municipalities award locations through direct agreement, without any competitive bidding. This illegal method creates a monopoly for a few companies and pushes excluded firms to file complaints. On the authorization platform, hundreds of requests have thus been arbitrarily rejected.

On Bladi.net : article 119543

These practices cost municipalities dearly. Inspectors point to millions of dirhams in unpaid amounts because operating taxes are not collected. Municipalities require no financial statements, thus favoring tax evasion. On the security side, companies provide no insurance and install billboards on roads without respecting technical standards. This exposes cities to serious financial lawsuits in case of accident.

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Administrative abuses worsen the situation. Several companies have been operating these billboards for more than five years, exceeding the legal deadline without ever renewing their permits. Moreover, installation plans do not go before technical committees and mandatory validations by regional authorities are completely ignored. Faced with these violations and to protect public funds, those responsible could soon face legal proceedings.