Morocco MP Scandal: From Car Attendant to Millionaire

– byPrince · 2 min read
Morocco MP Scandal: From Car Attendant to Millionaire

The unusual career of an MP from Fès, formerly a car attendant at a hotel, who quickly became one of the city’s wealthiest and most influential men, is fueling debate.

According to Mohamed El Ghalloussi, president of the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Funds, this MP from the Moulay Yacoub constituency built strong relationships with the city’s influential figures while working as a car attendant at a hotel. He began making his fortune by leveraging this extensive network to carry out real estate transactions as an intermediary, including deals involving collective property (soulaliyates).

To read: Land scandal in Fès: investigation opened into elected officials

The man later became a member of one of the parties in the governing coalition, managing to get elected to parliament as an MP in 2009. However, he is not known among the local population because he “does not even know how to write his name” and has never asked a question in parliament or taken part in any legislative activity, according to El Ghalloussi, who describes him as a “ghost MP.”

To read: Morocco: corrupt elected officials flee abroad

The sudden rise of this MP has sparked intense local controversy. Residents are questioning the origins of his fortune, amassed in record time, as he went from car attendant to owner of a luxury tourist complex.

To read: Morocco: elected officials suspected of tax fraud

For El Ghalloussi, this case reveals “part of a corruption system that now threatens the state and society.” He therefore calls on the public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation into suspected money laundering in order to verify “the sources of this unjustified wealth” and “take the necessary measures, which could go as far as the seizure and confiscation of the assets.”