Customs tighten airport checks as currency smuggling to Turkey surges

Moroccan authorities have ramped up inspections at major airports amid growing concerns over a surge in attempts to smuggle large sums of hard currency out of the country, particularly to Turkey, according to well-informed sources cited by Hespress.

The increased vigilance follows intelligence gathered by the Customs Administration’s Risk Analysis and Intelligence Units, which reported a rise in suspicious financial activity involving so-called “currency barons.” Major airports including Casablanca Mohammed V International, Rabat-Salé, and Marrakesh Menara are now under heightened surveillance.

Preventive investigations have been launched by central customs oversight services in coordination with the National Security Directorate, the Royal Gendarmerie, and other relevant agencies. Authorities are probing a string of organized smuggling operations that share similarities in timing and methods — specifically the use of fake tourism travel to transport undeclared currency abroad.

Customs officials reportedly began noticing unusual activity early this year, including repeated false declarations regarding personal travel allowances, which are now capped at MAD 100,000 (roughly $10,000) annually — up from the previous MAD 45,000. Expanded investigations are underway into the financial backgrounds of individuals fined for such violations, with data provided by Morocco’s Foreign Exchange Office on their bank records and foreign currency accounts.

Sources said the probes uncovered a well-organized network using travelers, including women and men posing as tourists, to carry out cross-border transfers. Several suspects are reportedly linked to the construction sector in Casablanca, while another is an irregular Moroccan expatriate in Germany who owns a car rental company. Authorities are still verifying the identities of others involved.

Preliminary checks into their import-export records revealed no legitimate business activity that would justify foreign currency transfers, which under Moroccan law require prior approval from the Foreign Exchange Office.

Under Morocco’s Customs Code and foreign exchange regulations, violations related to currency declarations and smuggling carry stiff penalties — including fines up to six times the amount involved and prison sentences ranging from three months to five years. Regulations also require that foreign earnings be repatriated and converted into Moroccan dirhams to support national currency reserves and maintain trade balance stability.

Customs investigators are also focusing on domestic financial transfers linked to the smuggling operations, where relatives of travelers were allegedly paid in Morocco in exchange for receiving foreign currency abroad. These transactions are being reviewed in partnership with banking regulators and financial oversight bodies.

Authorities say efforts are now intensifying to dismantle the networks and identify the sources of the large amounts of currency being smuggled out of the country.