Moroccan authorities launch major investigation into money laundering via office space projects

Morocco’s National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF) has launched a wide-ranging investigation into suspected money laundering operations tied to the development of high-end office spaces, in Casablanca and Marrakech.

According to well-informed sources cited by Hespress AR, the probe was triggered by suspicious transaction reports filed by real estate agents. Investigators are focusing on investors — including Moroccan expatriates — who had no previous history in real estate development and whose prior business activities were too modest to justify the capital poured into these real estate ventures.

Initial findings show that several office space developments in middle- to high-end neighborhoods were completed without the use of bank loans or external financing. This raised red flags among regulators, who began tracking the identity of company managers and shareholders involved in these projects.

Authorities discovered that many of these developers also created parallel companies to manage rental assets, despite low occupancy rates — often below 50 percent. Still, their bank accounts saw substantial activity, prompting further scrutiny.

Electronic data shared with Morocco’s tax authorities revealed significant discrepancies in the declared rental rates between landlords and tenant companies. In many cases, rental fees were deliberately inflated to justify large sums being funneled into company accounts.

Investigators were also struck by the professional backgrounds of the office space owners, many of whom had no training or experience in real estate, construction, or business management. Some have been linked to individuals involved in illegal activities, including drug trafficking and currency smuggling.

These findings led authorities to suspect that these real estate projects may be used to launder proceeds from criminal enterprises.

To create a veneer of legitimacy, the companies behind these projects retained well-known accounting firms and complied with tax filing deadlines — a tactic suspected to be aimed at evading financial monitoring or suspicion reports.

In 2024 alone, the National Financial Intelligence Authority referred 54 cases to public prosecutors in Rabat, Casablanca, Fes, and Marrakech — as well as to the public prosecutor at the Rabat Court of Appeal — involving suspected money laundering, predicate offenses, or terrorism financing. This marks a 25.58% annual increase in referrals. The authority also received 5,171 suspicious transaction reports in a single year, reflecting a 53.76% rise.

Further indicators of wrongdoing emerged from the unusually high-value rental contracts, which did not align with the financial performance or business activities of the tenants involved.

Authorities also found that the companies behind these office developments were accumulating unsold real estate assets in prime locations, likely with the intention of selling them quickly at stable prices.

The investigation is ongoing.