Morocco Bolsters Anti-Corruption Efforts with New National Authority Law

Morocco has intensified the fight against corruption, the squandering of public funds and poor management in recent years. This is evidenced by the numerous arrests, sometimes even of personalities holding positions of responsibility. It is in this that this law offers an opportunity for justice to expand its field of action in the fight against this scourge. The new law now covers all acts that constitute administrative and financial violations of a particular nature, but which are not elevated to the rank of a crime in their own right. Furthermore, all offenses related to criminal legislation, as well as those related to conflicts of interest, the activity of administrations and public bodies, and the misuse of public funds, as defined in Article 36 of the Constitution, are considered as corruption, reports La vie éco.

Similarly, the law empowers the authority to conduct research and investigations and prepare reports that will be transmitted to the competent authorities and bodies for the initiation of disciplinary or criminal proceedings. This authority will work closely with the Prosecutor’s Office, headed since Monday by Moulay El Hassan Daki. A career magistrate and member of the Prosecutor’s Office for forty years, he is a man of the field. On the same day, Zineb El Adaoui was appointed to head the Court of Auditors. Like the Prosecutor’s Office, the Court of Auditors is a key player in the fight against corruption. It has held positions of responsibility within the authority at both the national and regional levels. Before her appointment, she was heading the General Inspectorate of Territorial Administration (IGAT).

The appointment of these two personalities on the eve of the adoption of such an important law shows that Morocco has decided to wage an all-out war against corruption and other financial offenses. Another actor whose role in the fight against corruption is just as important is the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN). With this authority, it will have to redouble its efforts to effectively counter new financial and economic crimes. Since 2016, it has had four regional brigades that will be made up of investigators specialized in finance, economics, accounting and communication techniques.

The National Authority for Integrity, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption must work taking into account international standards in this area.