Former Moroccan Minister Questioned in Public Contract Fraud Investigation

Two of his vice-presidents were also summoned as part of this investigation into alleged financial irregularities concerning several public contracts launched by the Draâ-Tafilalet Regional Council, reports Al Akhbar. Their names are: Youssef Amenzou, a Harakist in charge of a 60 million dirham contract for the acquisition of 150 school buses, and Abdallah Sghiri, a former PJD parliamentarian, also involved in this contract.

It all started with a complaint filed by the opposition within the Draâ-Tafilalet Regional Council against El Habib Choubani. They also seized the Ministry of the Interior to intervene in this case.

According to the facts denounced, the Draâ-Tafilalet Regional Council had launched two tenders in 2017 and 2018 for the purchase of school buses. A procedural problem was raised: such an action falls under the prerogatives of the presidents of the beneficiary provincial councils. The second problem: it is a company belonging to "S. A", the wife of a deputy from Tata and the daughter of another parliamentarian from Tan-Tan, who won these two tenders.