Morocco Probes Suspected Export Fraud and Illegal Fund Transfers by Companies

Moroccan businessmen are suspected of having illegally received a substantial part of export revenues outside the national territory, before depositing these sums in bank accounts abroad. The examination of these suspicious transactions, involving companies operating in the agri-food, textile, clothing, and local products sectors, has made it possible to identify the managers of these companies, as well as their direct links with foreign company executives, report sources to Hespress. Some of these foreign partners are under the scrutiny of financial surveillance services in several European countries, particularly France.

The customs services and the Exchange Office have discovered that millions of dirhams from export profits have been transferred to bank accounts located in tax havens in Central America and Southeast Asia. The examination of previous export operations of the targeted companies reveals a significant concentration of transactions with certain foreign companies, mainly based in Europe. The exporters in question are suspected of having taken advantage of the substantial volume and diversity of exported products to circumvent foreign exchange legislation.

Only 60% of the transaction amount is regularized under banking supervision, while the law imposes a two-year deadline for any exporter to repatriate all funds from transactions not yet settled into their companies’ bank accounts in Morocco. Those implicated are also suspected of having taken advantage of the temporary admission regime - which allows the import of goods exempt from customs duties on condition of re-exportation - to conceal money transfers and divert profits generated outside the kingdom.