Moroccan financial regulators are investigating dozens of overseas companies owned by Moroccan nationals on suspicion of organized money laundering connected to illegal immigration and drug trafficking, according to Hespress AR sources familiar with the matter.
The Foreign Exchange Office (Office des Changes) has requested documents from European financial watchdogs under international information-sharing agreements. The requests target companies founded by Moroccans abroad who used their business registrations to obtain residency permits labeled “business stay cards.”
Authorities said the investigation, launched in coordination with the National Financial Intelligence Authority, aims to verify whether these companies were used to launder illicit funds through international transfers.
The companies under scrutiny are based in France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. Moroccan citizens fully or partially own them. Some were flagged by European regulators in alerts seeking to identify their owners and trace ties back to Morocco.
Investigators found that several Moroccan nationals had been assisted by consulting and law firms, particularly in Portugal, to establish companies and secure residency. The businesses declared activities in sectors including import-export, distribution and services.
An audit of asset declarations submitted by Moroccans living abroad over the past four years found no disclosure of the companies now under investigation. Authorities are working with the General Directorate of Taxes and Customs to determine the legal and financial standing of the individuals involved.
The individuals also did not appear in Morocco’s recent foreign asset regularization program, which closed Dec. 31. That initiative led to MAD 2 billion (about $200 million) in declared assets across 658 filings, mostly in financial holdings and real estate.
Sources said intelligence reports received by Moroccan authorities include serious allegations linking some companies to cross-border laundering networks led by European lawyers and accountants. These networks allegedly used the identities of Moroccans—mostly women—to create shell companies and obtain residency permits, circumventing international financial oversight.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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