Morocco ex-minister gets 13 years in prison over corruption
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- Former Moroccan minister Mohamed Moubdii has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined 30 million dirhams for multi-million dollar public fund embezzlement and corruption.
A Moroccan court has sentenced Mohamed Moubdii, a former government minister and prominent member of parliament, to 13 years in federal prison following a high-profile corruption trial, according to statement from his defense counsel.
The Casablanca Court of Appeal handed down the lengthy sentence alongside a staggering fine of 30 million dirhams ($3.2 million USD), marking one of the most severe anti-graft rulings against a high-ranking political figure in Morocco’s recent history.
The Charges and Judicial Findings
Moubdii, who served as the Minister Delegate for Civil Service and Modernization of Public Administration between 2013 and 2016, was convicted on several severe financial crimes. According to judicial records, the prosecution successfully argued charges including:
- Squandering and embezzlement of public funds
- Abuse of power and exploiting influence
- Bribery and financial kickbacks
- Forgery of commercial, customary, and official documents
The core of the case dates back to Moubdii’s extensive tenure as the president of the municipal council of Fkih Ben Salah, a position he held from 1997 until his arrest. An investigation launched by the Court of Auditors exposed deep-seated systemic malpractice tied to urban development contracts in the municipality.
Investigators flagged multiple dubious public procurement deals, including an inflated 800-million-dirham liquid sanitation study, where payments were distributed for poor-quality infrastructure or, in some instances, projects that were never executed.
A Fall From Political Grace
Moubdii is a heavyweight within the center-right Popular Movement party. The scandal reached a boiling point in April 2023. Just days after being elected to chair the House of Representatives' prestigious Justice, Legislation, and Human Rights Committee, a massive public outcry over his pending legal troubles forced his immediate resignation.
Shortly after stepping down from the committee, he was arrested by order of an investigative judge and moved to the Oukacha prison in Casablanca.
The judicial crackdown extended past the former minister. The prosecution targeted a wider network involved in the municipal collusion. A total of 13 defendants, including engineers, local public servants, independent contractors, and heads of private design firms, were implicated in the scheme, with several receiving prison sentences for their direct involvement in facilitating the fraud.
Anti-Graft Watchdogs React
The legal proceedings began after a formal complaint was lodged by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Funds (AMPPF). For years, civil society organizations in Morocco have pushed for deeper structural accountability regarding how public tenders are allocated.
"There must be a real political will to fight corruption and bribery through an integrated and comprehensive national strategy," said Mohamed El Ghalloussi, president of the AMPPF, in a statement regarding institutional accountability.
Political analysts note that the severity of the 13-year sentence serves as a direct message from the Moroccan judiciary that high-ranking state officials are no longer immune to prosecution under the country's intensifying anti-corruption framework.
