The trial of Mohamed Moubdi, former president of the Fqih Ben Salah commune, continued Tuesday with a tense courtroom confrontation between a defendant and accusations made by an employee at his company. The employee, during earlier testimony to the National Judicial Police Brigade, alleged irregularities in public contract handling.
Presided over by Judge Ali Tarchi, the Court of First Instance for Financial Crimes heard one of the co-defendants deny any wrongdoing after being confronted with the former employee’s claims. According to her testimony, some files prepared by the company lacked legal standards and included manipulation of provisional bond values for specific public tenders in Fqih Ben Salah.
The defendant argued that the employee was not qualified to access full details of the tenders or projects, particularly those outside her remit, such as in Nador or Berkane. He claimed she was only involved in processing public tender files, not private contracts.
The court also confronted the defendant with findings from the Ministry of Interior’s General Inspectorate, which revealed forged documents and invalid reference certificates submitted for public procurement processes. The defendant denied all allegations, insisting the documents were authentic. “I wouldn’t tarnish my reputation or engage in forgery just for profit,” he said.
The public prosecutor challenged him on outsourcing practices, asserting that he relied heavily on subcontracting rather than executing the work directly. The defendant responded that labor shortages made outsourcing necessary and said he supplied the subcontractors with machinery to complete the work.
When questioned about payments to these subcontractors, he admitted paying them in cash but denied any legal violations.
In a revealing moment, the defendant acknowledged transferring 200,000 and 300,000 dirhams to a member of the committee responsible for opening tender bids. Pressed by the court, he justified the payments by saying the recipient had worked as a contractor on sewage projects and that the funds were legitimate compensation. He denied any connection to a separate transfer made to the head of the procurement office.
The trial, which centers on alleged embezzlement and corruption in municipal contracts, continues to attract public attention due to the involvement of high-ranking officials and accusations of systemic financial misconduct.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.