US Treasury Probe Reveals Morocco’s Role in Global Money Laundering Network

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) conducted this investigation for 16 months. It reveals how illegal international money flows foster corruption and crime internationally, reports Le Desk.ma. According to the bank reports transmitted to the US Treasury, Attijariwafa bank has issued several alerts to the US authorities. The absence of the other banking groups except Bank of Africa from this database is noted.

The investigation reveals the near-total lack of data on transactions issued or received by individuals through banks in Morocco. The banks reported to FinCen less than 10 transactions concerning a handful of individuals. No public figure. The amounts range from $600 to $8,790. Similarly, the bank transfers of Oppo Maroc for a total amount of $1.4 million with individual amounts not exceeding $400,000, were reported to FinCen.

FinCen is the Intelligence Unit of the US Treasury Department responsible for preventing and punishing money laundering and other major financial crimes. The global investigation is based on 2,121 suspicious activity reports issued mainly between 2011 and 2017. More than $2 trillion in transactions have been reported.