Former Marrakech Official Faces Loss of French Citizenship Amid Corruption Sentence

A letter would have been addressed to him by the French Consulate in Marrakech, giving him a one-month deadline to appeal the procedure for deprivation of nationality.

Khalid Ouaya, former director of the urban agency of Marrakech, had been arrested in July 2019 in possession of 500,000 dirhams in cash and a check for 8.86 million dirhams. He had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million dirhams.

In France, only the Government is authorized to decide on the deprivation of nationality. Article 25 of the Civil Code lists the 4 specific situations where it is possible to withdraw French citizenship. Due to its restrictive nature, the decision cannot be appealed.