Moroccan Politician’s Son Receives Harsher Sentence in COVID Mask Fraud Case

Convicted at first instance to three years in prison, the son of the founder of the Moroccan liberal party Mohammed Ziane was sentenced to an additional six months in prison, reports Al Akhbar. In total, three years and six months. Only the fine was revised (1,000 dirhams instead of 30,000 dirhams). The same sentence was handed down against three other defendants. The 10-month prison sentence was upheld for the son of Mohamed Nouaidi, but the Court of Appeal reduced the fine from 10,000 DH to 1,000 DH. The same sentence was handed down against six other defendants in this case. The prison sentence of another defendant was reduced to one year in prison and a 10,000 DH fine.

The judicial police services of Rabat and Casablanca had dismantled a criminal network that was distributing counterfeit protective masks under the name of an American brand specialized in the production of quality masks meeting international standards following a complaint filed by a private clinic in Marrakech. The son of Mohammed Ziane was supposed to provide, for 660,000 dirhams, 20,000 FFP2 type protective masks to the clinic as part of a contract signed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.