Information emanating from the risk control and risk prevention department – directly attached to the Office General Directorate – has given rise to the opening of an in -depth investigation. Investigators examine banking transfers totaling approximately 780 million dirhams, reports Hespress. Several importers would have used false invoices and falsified transfer certificates, especially for goods from Asian countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam. The Inspectors of the Exchange Office discovered that almost half of the amounts were transferred by the official banking circuits.
To read: Moroccan customs: vast import fraud
As for the other half, it would have been settled in local currencies via intermediaries installed in these countries, thus making it possible to reduce customs duties to pay. Moroccan intermediaries operating in exporting countries, especially in China, are suspected of using illegal exchange practices. They provide considerable sums in yuan in return for Moroccan dirhams. Thus, the banking documents provided by certain customs importers to justify transfers to their suppliers are far from reflecting the real value of the goods.
To read: Morocco: The exchange office aims for the hidden accounts of managers
-To carry out this vast control operation, the Exchange Office came into contact with homologous institutions in countries exporting the products under control. The institution seeks to collect information on the transactions of Moroccan companies with their suppliers and to retrace the course of the funds transferred within the framework of commercial transactions to bank accounts located in other countries, more easily accessible by Moroccan importers. Also, it has requested the expertise of customs controllers and international databases in order to exchange with these institutions.
To read: the exchange office tracks some rich
Another action: an inventory and an audit are underway concerning banking authorizations to make transfers abroad as part of imports, for the period preceding the discovery of fraud involving a banking group and relating to illegal transfers with falsified authorizations. The Exchange Office is also based on the data provided by the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI), in order to verify the legal and fiscal situation of importing companies in survey. According to the DGI, there are anomalies in declarations relating to the turnover and the profits of the companies concerned.
