Morocco Health Ministry Corruption Probe: 31 Officials Under Investigation for Embezzlement

New developments in the investigation related to the case of embezzlement and squandering of public funds involving 31 suspects, including executives, civil servants and engineers from the central and regional services of the Ministry of Health. The former head of the equipment and maintenance department within the Ministry of Health in Rabat was recently questioned by the investigating judge, reports the Arabic-language daily Al Ahdat Al Maghribiya. She is being prosecuted for her criminal responsibility in a set of malfunctions, and her relationship with illegal tenders. The official has flatly rejected the accusations. She claimed to have done her job only within the scope of her responsibilities. Based on the principle of the presumption of innocence, her defense has requested her provisional release.

The outbreak of this case follows the opening of an investigation and the referral by the National Office for the Fight against Economic and Financial Crimes under the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ) of 31 people, including 18 officials from the Health Department and 13 entrepreneurs and employees, to the Public Prosecutor’s Office near the Court of Appeal of Casablanca, on March 29, 2022. These individuals would be involved in the squandering of public funds through the awarding and execution of tenders, corruption, insider trading and influence peddling. Significant sums of money (bribes) had been seized from two biomedical engineers working in the health sector.