Morocco Cracks Down on Meteorite Traders Amid Illegal Fund Transfer Concerns

Trouble for Moroccan stone and meteorite traders. After learning that they would be involved in illegal fund transfer operations abroad through commercial transactions carried out in the United States, the controllers of the Office of Foreign Exchange, in coordination with the services of the Directorate General of Taxes and the General Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes, have launched a vast audit process, reports Hespress. According to sources on the site, these traders have participated in international trade shows and have transported their high-value goods to sell them, before their proceeds disappeared.

The tax control services of the Directorate General of Taxes discovered the manipulation in the declarations of certain Moroccan stone and meteorite traders operating under the status of individuals, before transferring their files to the Office of Foreign Exchange for an audit concerning financial transactions carried out abroad, the same sources point out, adding that the suspects regularly participated in a specialized exhibition of mineral samples, fossils and meteoritic stones in the state of Arizona, in the southern United States. They are suspected of having transported significant quantities of precious goods to this exhibition. They would have distributed them on each trip between new traders for whom tax documents and commercial assets had been previously established. Significant financial amounts had been transferred in the form of goods for exhibitions organized annually in the United States, the same sources claim.

According to the preliminary investigation, the suspects had forged close ties with the organizers of these exhibitions, thus facilitating the obtaining of invitations for new traders, used to transport goods abroad. To accelerate the process of investing the profits in the purchase of real estate and the launch of investment projects, particularly in restaurants and truck rental, some have married American citizens and obtained the permanent resident card (Green Card). After their marriage, these Moroccan traders also created companies and intensified the transport operations of precious meteoritic stones to their advantage from Morocco. Some of them have even rented permanent premises in shopping malls in various states to market their products and ensure the continuity of imports from the kingdom.

Entered into force in March 2020, the implementing decree of Article 116 of Law No. 33.13 relating to mines includes measures concerning the marketing of meteorites. The exporter or importer is required to deposit with the