Spanish Consulate in Tangier Embroiled in Schengen Visa Fraud Investigation

The Moroccan police suspect in this case two Spanish employees of the consulate, Teresa G., the consul’s secretary, and María G., the head of visas, as well as two Moroccans who would have served as intermediaries, Asma B. A. E., the owner of a travel agency and Abderrahim Z., a journalist also holding Spanish nationality. The two Moroccans work within the Tangier municipal council, according to sources close to the investigation at El Español.

According to the first elements of the investigation, the agency offers Moroccans wishing to settle in Spain visas in exchange for 15,000 euros. But afterwards, the latter find that these are actually Schengen visas whose duration does not exceed 90 days. They are forced to return to Morocco after a three-month stay in Spain, or sometimes choose to live illegally in the peninsula.

The travel agency owner has the interested parties sign fake employment contracts, collects the 15,000 euros and Abderrahim Z., in charge of communication at the Tangier town hall, deposits the falsified documents at the consulate and takes care of the entire procedure. This system set up by the network was denounced by a victim who filed a complaint with the police, with supporting evidence including WhatsApp audios, which led to the opening of the investigation.

The Spanish Consul General in Tangier, Alfonso Manuel Portabales, would also be involved in the case, according to one of the audios in which the intermediary asked the complainant for an additional 3,000 euros, claiming that the new consul had to receive "his share for the signature" of her contract. A complaint has also been filed against the two Spanish employees of the consulate. Investigators do not yet know how many fake visas may have been issued, but estimate the number of victims to be "considerable".