A covert financial network handling billions dismantled in northern Morocco

The intervention targeted an organization operating outside the bounds of legality in the cities of Nador and Tetouan. Investigators seized a considerable volume of cash, totaling more than 30 million dirhams in cash. The confiscated funds consist mainly of euros and dollars, accompanied by pounds sterling, capital that completely escaped the traditional banking circuits.

The investigations suggest that these financial flows could be used to launder money from international criminal activities, with drug trafficking being a serious lead given the opacity of the circuits used. The network’s modus operandi also included specific conversion services for cryptocurrency users, allowing them to exchange dirhams for foreign currency outside the official system, a practice in direct violation of exchange regulations.

This clandestine activity circumvents the monopoly held by banks and authorized offices, the only ones authorized to carry out these operations under the supervision of Bank Al-Maghrib. The authorities are continuing their investigations to map out all the ramifications of this structure and identify the accomplices, with the aim of protecting the national economy against speculation and the injection of illicit capital.