Moroccan Officials Face Retrial for Alleged Public Fund Misuse in Oriental Region

The decision to retry Abdenbi Bioui, president of the Oriental region and leader of the RNI, Omar Hjira, deputy and mayor of Oujda as well as Lakhdar Haddouch, president of the Oujda prefectural council, was made by the Court of Cassation. On Wednesday, at the opening of the trial, after verifying the identity of the accused, the court decided to postpone the hearing to March 22, the time to summon the rest of the accused, reports the daily Al Akhbar.

According to the same source, the facts occurred eight years ago. Seventeen individuals, including three elected officials, civil servants, engineers and entrepreneurs, have been identified and prosecuted for having embezzled and dissipated 240 million dirhams. The accused had been released on bail pending their trial.