Moroccan Court Hands Down Lengthy Sentences in Major Land Fraud Case

The leader of the network was sentenced to 10 years in prison, two other defendants to 8 years in prison each, and another to 7 years in prison. A lawyer from the Meknes bar and the brother of the network leader were each sentenced to 5 years in prison, while two other defendants were sentenced to 3 years in prison for criminal organization, forgery and use of official documents. The court also sentenced a notary judge in Sefrou and several adouls to sentences of up to 2 years in prison, reports Barlamane.

Seventeen other defendants prosecuted on provisional release also received 1-year prison sentences. According to the indictment, all members of the network are being prosecuted for "false statements before the adouls, forgery of official documents and use of forgeries, fraud, corruption, abuse of authority and organization of illegal immigration". In addition to the custodial sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay a joint compensation of 800,000 dirhams to the Ministry of the Interior and 59,844 dirhams to the tax administration.

The convicts had been arrested in mid-October 2023, after the dismantling, by the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), of their network which was very active in Imouzzer Kandar, Azrou, Ain Taoujdate, Sefrou, Béni Mellal, Ouarzazate and Tinghir. After investigation, the DGSN discovered that the defendants had falsified land titles, with the complicity of false witnesses, in order to illegally appropriate collective or privately owned lands, particularly those belonging to foreigners.

The network also engaged in acts of fraud. Their victims were immigration candidates to whom they promised visas or foreign employment contracts, in exchange for large sums of money. Forged land documents, employment contracts, falsified visas as well as computer equipment and bank transfer receipts were found during the search carried out as part of the investigation.