Moroccan Bank Director Faces Trial for $25 Million Embezzlement Scheme

Following the appearance of Daniel Ziouziou, regional director of the Union Marocaine des Banques (UMB) of Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma and sixth deputy of Mustapha El Bakkouri, mayor of the urban commune of Tétouan, before the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Financial Crimes of the Court of Appeal of Rabat last week, the Court of Appeal of Rabat decided to postpone the opening of the hearings to the last week of this month, in order to allow the summoning of the managers of the Union Marocaine des Banques as a civil party. According to Al Akhbar, "the upcoming hearings promise to be rich in twists and confrontations, given the seriousness of the financial crime attributed to the bank director and the implications of the file revealed by the in-depth investigations."

Ziouziou has been incarcerated in the local prison of Témara since May 2024. He is being prosecuted for "forming a network for the embezzlement of public funds, attacking automated data processing systems and falsifying banking documents for the purpose of embezzlement." This official took advantage of his position to divert funds from bank accounts of clients - companies, businessmen, associations of civil servants, or individuals - of his agency. His accomplice, his cashier collaborator and he would have diverted 250 million dirhams from the bank belonging to the heirs of Princes Moulay Abdellah and Moulay Ali as well as to some Swiss and American shareholders. More than 5 million dirhams previously blocked in return for interest would have disappeared from the account of the Association of Social Works of the employees of the commune of Tétouan. These funds would have been used in gambling games in Tangier, in the financing of real estate projects that failed, or in the form of unpaid loans paid into private accounts without guarantees.

A senior official of the parent financial institution, whose local subsidiary in Tétouan is also in the sights of the judicial authorities. He is under judicial supervision. Pending the completion of the investigations by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police in this case, he is prohibited from leaving the national territory. His passport has been confiscated.