From the preliminary investigation to the investigation to the verdict, justice intervenes in the fight against money laundering.
capital. The public prosecutor is in charge of the preliminary investigation: from 2010 to 2018, the King's prosecutors
handled approximately 200 cases. The jurisdiction of Rabat has national jurisdiction. It judged 21 cases in
2018
Justice investigated 193 dirty money laundering cases between 2010-2018. "The efforts made
gave positive results. The magistrates in charge of the fight against money laundering have
settled all the files from 2010 to 2015”, welcomes the presidency of the public prosecutor.
For almost a decade, this type of financial crime has been on a steady rise. In fact, only one case
was recorded at the beginning of the decade compared to 52 at the end of 2018. Morocco has adopted legislation against
money and the financing of terrorism in May 2007. The law has since been amended twice in
2011 and 2013.
Several actors fight against money laundering. Having national jurisdiction, the court
Criminal Court of Rabat investigates and judges this type of case which often involves people or companies
based abroad (see box). This is, moreover, one of the "obstacles" identified by the public prosecutor in
2017.
And to which is added “the concentration of investigations at the level of the National Brigade of the Judicial Police.
This results in "a delay in the investigations", according to the 2018 activity report of the president of the
public prosecutor, M'hammed Abdenabaoui. It was necessary to “diagnose the situation” and “adopt measures
to ensure efficiency in the management of preliminary investigations”.
These steps must be placed in a broader historical context. Public prosecutors
no longer fall under the authority of the Ministry of Justice since October 7, 2017. It is one of the
consequences of the justice reform and the Constitution adopted six years earlier.
Thus, the new format public ministry will try in its own way to make its mark in the fight
against money laundering. In 2018, it opted for the decentralization of surveys at the level of
regional judicial police brigades.
The goal is to “reduce the pressure” on their colleagues to whom all suspected cases are transferred. The
judicial police was “encouraged to speed up” in its investigations. And when the results of the investigations
prove to be "sufficient", the public prosecutor brings the defendants directly before the court: "In this
case there, the examining magistrate is not seized”. This magistrate is supposed to carry out an investigation separate from that of the
wooden floor.
In addition, the public prosecutor also took an interest in the underlying offenses of money laundering.
capital: narcotics, financial fraud, trafficking in human beings... The public prosecutor who is investigating a
case of this kind is ordered by his hierarchy to refer suspected cases of money laundering to the court of
first instance of Rabat.
The notification of the accused and witnesses is also part of the missions of the public prosecutor's office. The
coordination “with the Crown prosecutors of the other jurisdictions of the Kingdom makes it possible to deal with
difficulties of notification" of people called to appear before the criminal court of Rabat.
The Presidency of the Public Prosecutor's Office has monthly statistics related to money laundering.
One of them relates to investigation times. Important data that does not appear in his report
of activity in 2018. The number of investigations finalized suggests that processing times have been reduced:
from 28 to 5 in 2016 and from 47 to 16 in 2017. In addition, the number of suspicious transaction reports from Crown prosecutors has increased. They
fluctuated between 8 and 30 in previous years compared to 40 in 2018. These suspicious transaction reports are
mandatory when there are doubts about the origin of the financial funds in particular.
They impose themselves on other professions such as bankers, notaries, jewelers, casinos,
money transporters... Suspicious transactions are sent and processed by the
financial intelligence (UTRF) based in Rabat. The number of money laundering cases having
been judged is also on the rise: ten between 2010-2017 against 21 judgments in 2018.
Morocco poorly rated internationally
The laundering of dirty money relies on cross-border criminal networks. Judicial cooperation
international is required: rogatory commission, transfer of criminals, arrest of persons
sought internationally... This component is also assessed annually by the Financial Action Task Force
(GAFI) which is an intergovernmental body bringing together 38 member countries. Its antenna at
Middle East and North Africa released its latest assessment report in April 2019. “Its ratings
mostly fluctuate between low and moderate. Further progress is needed
substantial if not compliant to have a good rating,” says Aziza Rimane, business director
of Bank Al-Maghrib. Technical compliance involves, for example, criminalizing the laundering of
tax evasion. Law No. 43-05 on the fight against money laundering does not provide for this. This is
probably one of the reasons that pushes the OECD and the European Union to want to integrate the Kingdom into
the gray list of tax havens. At a time when fiscally more attractive countries are not! It's the
case of Ireland and Luxembourg.