MRE Inheritance Blocked 50 Years by Birthplace Error

Mohamed Ben Brahim Azeroual, originally from Boumalne Dadès, in the province of Tinghir, died in December 1970 in a hotel fire in Amsterdam. His son, Ahmed Azeroual, claims to have been waging an administrative battle for years to recover compensation that would have been awarded to him and his sister following this death.

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According to his testimony to Hespress, these funds would be held with the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion, under an account number mentioned in official documents. But the family says it is facing a blockage linked to a discrepancy in the deceased’s birthplace.

Ahmed Azeroual explains that the case was long followed by his uncle, who held a power of attorney from his mother. It was only in 2004 that he says he recovered the documents and discovered the existence of correspondence between the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the prosecutor’s office in Ouarzazate regarding his father’s death and the settlement of his estate.

That same year, he claims to have received a document from the King’s Prosecutor at the court of first instance in Ouarzazate indicating that the compensation was held with the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion. For the family, this letter remains one of the central elements of the case.

"Boulman" instead of "Boumalne"

The blockage would stem from an administrative error that the heirs consider minor, but with serious consequences. According to Ahmed Azeroual, when he presented himself to the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion, he was told orally that the account concerned a Mohamed Azeroual, but born in "Boulman" and not in "Boumalne".

The family believes this is a simple confusion in the transcription of the birthplace name. This difference would now prevent the formal identification of the deceased and therefore the delivery of compensation to his rightful heirs.

The heirs claim to have continued their efforts. Yasmine Azeroual, daughter of Ahmed and a Moroccan student in Italy, reportedly obtained an official document from the archives of the Amsterdam prosecutor’s office, mentioning the Dutch legal case opened after the 1970 fire.

Ahmed Azeroual says he recently wrote to the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion to obtain an official response. He also claims to have contacted the Kingdom’s Ombudsman institution, hoping for intervention to unblock the case.

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The family is now requesting support from Moroccan authorities, particularly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consular services, in order to obtain a copy of the original proof of the compensation transfer. More than fifty years after the Amsterdam tragedy, the heirs still hope to close a case suspended over an error of a few letters.