Moroccan Real Estate Scam Victims Protest as CEO Faces Court in Casablanca

In total, there are more than 1,400 victims who were defrauded through 16 fictitious projects. According to Le360, a few dozen victims gathered in front of the Court of Appeal in Casablanca, after several months of suspension of the hearings. For one of the victims, real estate was purchased as part of a fair authorized by the authorities. "We have confidence in justice," she specified. A Moroccan retiree living abroad (MRE) regrets having invested all her savings in this project. "I paid a deposit of 1,200,000 dirhams. I demand the reimbursement of this sum," she said before adding that she was planning to settle in Morocco.

This is the first time that the CEO of Bab Darna, Mohamed El Ouardi, has appeared before the investigating judge at the Court of Appeal. Six other members of the executive of this real estate group, as well as the notary, are being prosecuted for forgery of official documents, complicity, fraud and issuing checks without provision.

At the end of the hearing, the investigating judge decided to imprison the CEO of Bab Darna because of the many grievances against him. After declaring his incompetence to deal with this case, the case started in February, after several hearings, was reclassified and referred to the criminal chamber of the Court of Appeal.

At the time, the defense lawyer for Mohamed El Ouardi had contested this decision, by referring the case to the Court of Cassation, which ultimately confirmed the criminal nature of the facts attributed to the leaders of Bab Darna. A new investigating judge then took over the case, this time at the Casablanca Court of Appeal, it is specified.