The Moroccan Financial Intelligence Authority has accelerated investigations into suspected money laundering operations involving shell companies, after detecting irregular banking activity at two suburban Casablanca branches of a major banking group, informed sources told Hespress.
The probe began after commercial bank staff flagged repeated large deposits and withdrawals via cheques and promissory notes in accounts of small-scale companies.
The transactions raised suspicions due to their mismatch with the firms’ declared activities and the prevailing economic context.
Financial analysts working under the ANRF reportedly coordinated with the General Directorate of Taxes, uncovering an elaborate scheme where these shell companies generated fictitious inter-company transactions to inflate profits.
They declared these earnings within legal deadlines and paid taxes to lend credibility to the suspicious financial flows, which are believed to be linked to narcotics proceeds.
The core of the investigation now centers on verifying the origin of the funds injected into these companies’ capital.
Authorities suspect the funds are linked to drug barons using networks of front companies to integrate illicit profits into the formal economy.
Preliminary findings revealed that these companies operated in sectors like distribution, construction, and commerce, providing cover to absorb large sums through fabricated revenues.
Book keeping audits found repetitive invoicing of identical transactions across companies at matching values, indicating artificial profit generation later funneled into real estate, luxury assets, and land acquisitions.
According to ANRF’s 2023 annual report, the authority referred 71 money laundering and terrorism financing cases to prosecutors in Rabat, Casablanca, Fes, and Marrakech. The report noted a 31.48 percent year-on-year rise in referrals, with 38 percent of cases involving document forgery or fraud, including fake bank statements and payment tools.
Sources also confirmed that some suspects attempted to exploit data oversight loopholes at the tax administration, which prioritizes underreported profits over inflated ones. Auditors also uncovered the involvement of accountants and banking professionals who tailored financial disclosures to mask the companies’ illicit activities.
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