Fez Mayor and Officials Face Trial for Public Contract Fraud

At the end of the preliminary interrogations in this case, the Attorney General of the King near the Court of Appeal of Fez ordered the placement in pre-trial detention of the eleven elected officials, including the third deputy mayor of the city of Fez, the USFP deputy Abdelkader El Boussairi. Mayor Abdeslam Bekkali (RNI), for his part, is being prosecuted in provisional release, reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

The defendants are accused, among other things, of "fraud in the execution and awarding of public contracts and purchase orders". They were brought before the public prosecutor on Saturday, after being questioned by the brigade in charge of financial crimes under the BNPJ, in the presence of their lawyers. While the eleven elected officials are accused of "embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power, forgery and use of forgeries, insider trading, and adultery," Mayor Abdeslam Bekkali is being prosecuted for "non-reporting of crimes".

Municipal officials, including the secretary general, a vehicle pound agent and a woman close to the mayor, are also involved in the case and are being prosecuted in provisional release. As for the director of the municipal pound and several heads of department (markets and works, technical studies, urban planning, green spaces, municipal revenues, legalization) as well as several entrepreneurs, they are in pre-trial detention in the civil prison of Fez, pending the trial scheduled for October 17 before the criminal chamber in charge of financial crimes near the Court of Appeal of Fez.