Moroccan Tax Authorities Probe Suspicious Real Estate Deals in Tangier

The investigations reveal that the suspects had deposited amounts reaching 80% of the value of the apartments in residential buildings under construction, through reservation contracts, reports Hespress. But the work undertaken as part of these projects has been suspended for years, without them being completed or certificates of conformity to housing (Occupancy Permits) being issued to the alleged beneficiaries. In addition to real estate, the real estate developers invested in other activities such as import-export, agriculture, among others.

The investigations also confirm collusion between the developers and the suspected clients, through the number of reservations made with unique identities and the nature of the real estate, whose prices exceed the ceilings for direct housing support. The stalled real estate projects, subject to the verifications, had been strategically located to maintain the prices of residential real estate and facilitate their rapid resale, the investigators also reveal.

The ANRF inspectors thus discovered that they were using fictitious sales offices in order to justify the legality of the marketed projects and to dispel suspicions. In addition, no reservations or sales were recorded through banking channels, through real estate loans. The reservations indicated that the real estate financing was done by direct cash payment.

In total, 54 files - representing an annual increase of 25.58% - relating to acts suspected of being linked to money laundering or underlying crimes, as well as the financing of terrorism, have been transmitted to the prosecutors at the courts of first instance of Rabat, Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech, as well as to the Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Rabat.

In addition, the number of suspicious money laundering reports received by the ANRF amounts to 5,171, an annual growth of 53.76%.