Moroccan Lawmakers Face Probe for Alleged Financial Crimes and Corruption

The Attorney General has instructed the King’s Prosecutors near the Chamber in charge of financial crimes of the courts of Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat and Fez to open investigations into cases involving at least 24 members of the two Houses of Parliament, according to sources at the daily Al Akhbar, specifying that these are parliamentarians holding the position of municipal president or having previously held the post.

The investigations are being carried out by the BNPJ, the National Brigade of the Gendarmerie and the regional brigades of the judicial police, in charge of financial crimes. The public prosecutor is asking the King’s Prosecutors to be diligent in handling these cases and to finalize as soon as possible those whose investigations have been closed for a year.

According to the same sources, the slowness in handling these cases is explained by the fact that some of the implicated parliamentarians do not respond to the summons of the investigating judge or the judicial police, justifying their absence with medical certificates. Yet, they are seen attending parliamentary sessions and participating in official meetings.

In 2023, the Court of Auditors sent 14 reports on corruption cases to the public prosecutor’s office, more than double the number received in 2022. These reports have been forwarded to the competent prosecutor’s office. During the same period, the public prosecutor’s office also received four reports from the general inspections of certain ministries, which made it possible to conduct investigations for corruption offenses and squandering of public funds.