Morocco to Toughen Laws on Illicit Enrichment with Asset Seizure and Fines

This amendment will concern Article 8-255 of the Moroccan Penal Code and will take place, according to Le360, "as early as next week". This media indeed writes: "The Penal Code will be amended as early as next week, at the initiative of the Ministry of Justice, to include a provision whereby illicit enrichment is punishable by a fine ranging from 100,000 to one million dirhams and the confiscation of assets acquired during this period."

In addition, the same source explains that there will be arrest and trial in a state of arrest for those accused of illicit enrichment. And "all undeclared assets will be confiscated." This amendment will apply to "all state officials and in particular those who have declared to the administration, at the time of taking office, that they do not own any real estate."

The controls and judicial investigations will also concern the children of persons suspected of illicit enrichment. As for the refusal to submit to an investigation in this regard, it risks one to three months in prison, as well as a fine ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 dirhams.

Le360 concludes its article as follows: "this amendment to the Penal Code will be adopted on Monday, May 20 by the parliamentary committee responsible for legislating in this matter, in the presence of the Minister of Justice, Mohamed Aujjar."