Corruption Scandal: Officials Exposed in Moroccan Illegal Well-Drilling Network

Confidential reports transmitted by provincial authorities to the central services of the Ministry of the Interior have revealed the existence of illegal well drilling networks, composed of "probe" owners and elected officials who own drilling companies. These elected officials would benefit from the complicity of caids and pashas to falsify depth measurement reports, deliberately direct inspections away from "clandestine wells," and cover up illicit activities on agricultural land or in subdivisions.

The Ministry of the Interior will send an investigative commission to the provinces of Berrechid, Médiouna and the prefecture of Mohammedia to verify the information contained in the reports. According to these documents, a deputy mayor in Berrechid was caught in the act of protecting an illegal drilling operation for the benefit of an influential owner, in exchange for electoral support.

The department of Abdelouafi Laftit has recently launched a large-scale operation to close unauthorized wells in areas where water resources are threatened with depletion. It is in this context that five illegal wells have been sealed in Chaouia, where clandestine drilling can reach depths of 200 meters. The water police have recorded the consumption, discovering that several installations have been dedicated to irrigation or industrial activities, and not for domestic use, in violation of the regulations in force.

To recall, a joint circular from the Ministries of the Interior and Equipment and Water had called for the establishment of local inspection commissions to inventory all wells and boreholes, verify their compliance with safety standards, and raise awareness among citizens about the risks involved.