Moroccan Port Officials Jailed for Embezzlement and Document Fraud

It all started with a complaint filed by the Moroccan Association of Maritime Navigation Officers of the Port of Tanger Ville with the Attorney General of the Court of Appeal of Rabat. In this complaint, the association accuses officials of "embezzlement of public funds" after they awarded a group of companies that had won public contracts the maintenance of tugs and pilot boats, extending to other ports such as Asfi, Agadir, Jorf Lasfar and the liaison port in M’diq, according to Al3omk.

Recently, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in charge of financial crimes of the Court of First Instance of Rabat has rendered its judgment. The head of the maritime operations department of the Port of Tanger Ville was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 20,000 dirhams for charges related to the embezzlement of public funds, and participation in the falsification of public documents and their use.

Six other officials were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to two years. Among them are the former head of the commercial navigation service in Tétouan, the head of the maritime department of the port of Kénitra, a retiree, a former expert in maritime affairs, and a merchant in maritime fishing equipment. Two individuals were sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence.