Rachid Maboudi
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9:23 p.m. – January 7, 2025
The criminal chamber specializing in financial crimes of the Court of Appeal of Fez delivered its verdict on Tuesday, January 7, condemning the president of the Aman Foundation for Sustainable Education and several members of her association to prison terms and fines for embezzlement of public funds.
The president and treasurer of the association were each sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 40,000 dirhams. Two members of the association were also sentenced, one to one year in prison and a fine of 20,000 dirhams, the other to a fine of 10,000 dirhams and an equivalent sentence. A fifth accused, tried at large, was sentenced to two years in prison with a fine of 10,000 dirhams, while the president’s sister was acquitted.
This case was triggered following a complaint filed by an employee of a school establishment, accusing the leaders of the association of diverting public funds intended to support students in rural areas as part of the fight against dropping out of school.
The investigation, supervised by the competent public prosecutor’s office and entrusted to the regional brigade of the judicial police of Fez, revealed several irregularities. Among the charges brought against the accused are the falsification of documents, their fraudulent use, as well as the embezzlement and squandering of public funds.
The arrests took place on January 23, 2024, during a coordinated operation in the cities of Fez, Rabat and Sefrou, carried out by regional brigades with the support of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).
At the end of this operation, the prosecution ordered the provisional detention of the president, the treasurer and two members of the association at the Bourkaïz penitentiary center, while two other suspects were pursued on provisional release.
Morocco
