Moroccan Exchange Office intensifies crackdown on undeclared overseas assets

Morocco’s Exchange Office has stepped up investigations into individuals suspected of failing to declare foreign assets under the Voluntary Disclosure Program for Foreign Properties and Assets, which officially ended on December 31, 2024.

The move comes as authorities gain access to expanded data through the implementation of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Information agreement with European countries.

According to well-informed Hespress AR sources, inspection teams have opened a series of audits focusing on suspicious cases, notably, individuals who purchased apartments abroad for children studying overseas but failed to repatriate the assets or declare them after their children returned home. Other targets include investors who did not report foreign-held funds within the legal time frame.

The same sources indicated that several audits were based on intelligence received from counterpart institutions in countries such as France and Spain. These reports flagged Moroccan nationals accumulating foreign real estate, making high-volume bank transfers, and holding significant offshore movable assets.

Among those reportedly under scrutiny is a prominent livestock trader and wholesale meat dealer who purchased an apartment in Paris for his wife. He also executed multiple property transfers in Morocco, with some of the proceeds believed to have financed the French acquisitions.

Authorities are also probing declarations submitted before the end of the amnesty period by individuals attempting to regularize their status. Some of these cases involved attempts to misrepresent or conceal the true value of their foreign assets.

One example involves an architect accused of illegally transferring a large sum of money abroad. The funds were allegedly used to purchase a home for his son, who was studying pharmacy in Spain but has since moved to another country, with the money never returned or regularized in Morocco.

Another case concerns a Moroccan investor operating in Africa, who failed to declare profits and investment transfers on time, despite owning companies active across multiple African countries.

While the identities of many individuals under investigation remain undisclosed, the Exchange Office confirmed that the voluntary disclosure campaign led to declarations worth over 2 billion dirhams (about $200 million) across 658 individual filings.

The declared assets were broken down as 916.2 million dirhams (45%) of financial assets, 868.3 million dirhams (43%) of real estate, and 244.7 million dirhams (12%) of sash holdings.

Sources told Hespress AR that authorities are now working closely with international financial watchdogs and regulatory bodies in countries that are party to the Automatic Exchange of Information treaty. These efforts aim to collect further evidence on undeclared properties, bank accounts, and financial movements involving Moroccan nationals abroad.

Those found guilty could face severe penalties, including fines up to six times the value of the undeclared assets, and possible prison sentences.

Officials estimate that the value of undeclared foreign assets may currently exceed 13 billion dirhams. The Exchange Office, often referred to as Morocco’s “currency watchdog,” is now leveraging advanced monitoring tools to detect violations and compel individuals to regularize their financial status.