Morocco: investigation into massive fraud

Investigators have been deployed in seven structures between Rabat and Casablanca, alerted by abnormal operating costs reported by public accountants, reports Hespress. The examination of the files has revealed well-established fraudulent practices. Supply vouchers and magnetic cards are circulating illegally, ending up in the hands of civil servants’ relatives or being exchanged for cash. More seriously, some documents have been falsified to artificially inflate consumption quotas.

The investigations have uncovered glaring accounting aberrations. Vehicles officially immobilized for months due to breakdowns continue to receive monthly fuel allocations. On public construction sites, the control system is just as deficient: heavy equipment is allocated excessive amounts of diesel, far exceeding their actual operating hours.

These fraudulent maneuvers would have allowed civil servants and private entrepreneurs to accumulate substantial profits by reselling the diverted fuel or using it for their personal needs. Faced with these abuses that weigh on the state’s budget, the IGF is accelerating its verifications, particularly targeting the accumulated payment arrears with the distributors and the responsibility of the senior officials involved in these opaque circuits.