Three Moroccan banking groups have shut down more than 3,000 accounts under instructions from the central bank after detecting fraudulent use of some dormant accounts through suspicious checks, according to daily Assabah.
The closures targeted inactive accounts with no movement for over a year, as well as accounts exploited by fraud networks. Investigations revealed that fraudsters were using checkbooks linked to these dormant accounts to scam wholesale traders, often by first building trust with cash transactions before disappearing after issuing worthless checks.
The central payment incidents unit has recorded more than 500,000 checks flagged for non-payment, with a total contested value exceeding 17 billion dirhams. This surge prompted the regulator to demand stricter monitoring and closure of dormant accounts, which remain vulnerable to misuse.
By law, accounts inactive for 10 years must be closed and their balances transferred to the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG). However, during that period, banks may continue to use deposited funds for lending and management fees, without being legally required to trace owners beyond a standard notification six months before transfer.
The fraud networks, Assabah notes, carefully select victims among traders, exploiting trust to pass bad checks as collateral before vanishing. The move reflects tighter oversight by the central bank to curb systemic abuse and reinforce confidence in financial transactions.
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