Corruption Scandal in Morocco: 15 Sentenced in Rabat Document Forgery Case

End of the trial of the 15 people (a former official at the Salé prefecture, brokers and taxi owners) prosecuted for falsifying official documents and their use, corruption and participation before the Criminal Chamber responsible for financial crimes near the Court of Appeal of Rabat. The main defendant was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of 150,000 dirhams, reports La Map. Three defendants were each sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 120,000 dirhams, while four others were each sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 dirhams. Seven defendants prosecuted on provisional release were each sentenced to six months in prison with a suspended sentence. The Court also decided to drop the charges of "forming a criminal gang" against the 15 defendants.

These people were arrested in 2022 by elements of the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ) as part of an investigation related to manipulations of trust licenses. After being brought before the prosecutor’s office near the Court of Appeal of Rabat, they were referred to the investigating judge at the same Court. After their hearing, he prosecuted eight of the defendants in a state of arrest. As for the seven other defendants, they were prosecuted in a state of provisional release.