Moroccan Official Faces Potential Increased Sentence for Embezzlement

It was the chamber of financial crimes near the Casablanca Court of Appeal that had sentenced Abdessamed Khannani to three years in prison and a fine of 40,000 DH in December. The public prosecutor’s office and the civil party represented by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Money have appealed this verdict, reports Al Oâmk. According to the organization, the sentence is not sufficient.

Abdessamed Khannani was accused of having improperly exempted citizens from paying the tax on unbuilt land, seized communal lands that were reserved for the construction of a sports complex in Boujniba to transform them into subdivisions that he shared with his associates, reports Al Akhbar.

The lawyer for the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Money had filed a request with the court to request the seizure of all the real estate and movable property of the accused in accordance with the circular issued on December 13, 2019 by the president of the public prosecutor’s office. The elected official was then prosecuted for "embezzlement of public funds under his control by virtue of his position and for receiving interest on a contract or following an operation that he manages directly".