Morocco: 260 million dirhams embezzled in Tetouan, a network of notables involved

The new hearing scheduled for November 17 will allow to hear high-ranking officials sitting on the inspection and monitoring commissions of banking operations. "This decision comes in a climate of intense speculation concerning the management of complaints and the troubled relationships that the accused would maintain with influential figures within various institutions," reports Al Akhbar.

The case, which is shaking the central management of the Moroccan Union of Banks, has taken a new turn after the revelations of a second accused, an employee of the bank, who confirmed the involvement of several notables and real estate developers from the north of the kingdom. Contradictions were also noted between the statements of the director of the agency, co-accused, and those of the main accused, on the regularity of certain loans.

In addition, the Court will rule on ancillary files related to the financial management of the Moghreb de Tetouan football club and possible money laundering operations. Tens of millions of dirhams would have been invested in the gaming halls of Tangier or would have been used to finance aborted real estate projects.

Files relating to unpaid debts, injected into private accounts "laundered" or sold on the active black markets in the northern region will also be examined. This case, involving a bank official and a municipal councilor of Tetouan, had caused a scandal at the level of the management of the Moroccan Union of Banks and its network.