Morocco money laundering investigation suspicious transfers offshore

The case concerns suspicions of capital flight abroad. According to Hespress, the Office of Exchange received information from its counterparts in Spain and France about alleged links between Moroccan companies and offshore entities used to move money out of Morocco.

On Bladi.net : Morocco Investigates Illegal Investment Transfers to France and Singapore

Initial checks suggest that some of these companies could be indirectly controlled by Moroccan businessmen. Several structures are officially run by people unrelated to the real beneficiaries, which complicates the identification of owners.

Investigators are particularly interested in consulting contracts, services, import-export or market research agreements. These seemingly regular agreements allegedly served to justify substantial transfers to accounts located outside Morocco.

Beneficiaries difficult to identify

Some operations related to finding partners or business opportunities reportedly exceeded 8 million dirhams per file. Investigators are now seeking to verify whether the declared services were actually performed.

Investigations also cover import invoices suspected of being inflated. Another method identified involves perishable goods purchased at low prices abroad but invoiced at market price, before being blocked or refused entry to Morocco due to their condition.

On Bladi.net : 90 million dirhams illegally transferred abroad: a vast network dismantled between Casablanca, Paris and Brussels

In this scheme, Moroccan companies remained obliged to pay the declared value of shipments, while the difference between the real price and the invoiced price was transferred abroad. The Office of Exchange is now attempting to trace financial flows and establish who really stands behind the companies involved.