Currency Scandal Rocks Morocco: Exchange Offices Under Fire for Dirham Speculation

The controllers examined the registers of the suspected exchange offices to ensure compliance with regulatory and prudential procedures as well as their commitment to use the information exchange platform with the central services of the Foreign Exchange Office. They also carried out the necessary checks to dispel suspicions of parallel activities by these exchange companies, in violation of the law governing the profession.

The controllers focused their efforts on examining the documents and supporting documents of the transactions carried out by four exchange offices in Casablanca since the beginning of this year, after the activation of the ex-post control procedures adopted by the Foreign Exchange Office. They also carried out inspection missions in Tangier to monitor the activity of the offices suspected of engaging in parallel activities.

The inspectors also noted the growth of active networks in currency speculation against the dirham through certain exchange offices. The investigations confirmed the involvement of certain offices in such offenses. The persons concerned may face sanctions up to the withdrawal of their accreditation.

The control services of the Foreign Exchange Office have carried out 54 investigation missions with exchange companies regarding the activity of manual exchange, and 53 investigations on the compliance of these companies with national procedures for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. These investigations revealed serious irregularities related to the failure to verify the identity of the beneficiaries of the exchange services from the euro and the dollar to the dirham.