The Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, revealed the conclusions of the investigations concerning cases of fraud affecting the victims of the Al Haouz earthquake. These investigations highlighted the involvement of a local Caid and an authority agent in facilitating these abuses. A series of disciplinary and judicial measures was announced to sanction those responsible and prevent new infractions.
According to the minister, an entrepreneur based in Douar Bouzouq (Aït Mellou commune) defrauded 14 beneficiaries in Douar Taghzout and 4 others in Douar Tinmel by not respecting the contracts signed with them. The promised work was not finalised and technical standards were ignored.
In a written response to a question from a member of the Justice and Development parliamentary group, the minister specified that the local authorities, informed of these irregularities, had asked the concerned entrepreneur to complete the work according to standards and to respect the contracts.
They also forced him to reimburse the sums received. Furthermore, the victims were invited to file individual complaints with the public prosecutor's office to potentially prosecute the entrepreneur for breach of trust and carrying out non-compliant work. The entrepreneur was arrested by the Royal Gendarmerie in Aït Melloul.
A second entrepreneur, residing in Douar Tassa Ouirkan (Ouirgane commune), is also accused of having failed to meet his commitments with the inhabitants of Douar Al Arab (Asni commune). The latter is currently the subject of a search warrant.
Finally, a third entrepreneur, originally from Béni Mellal, did not honour his contracts with 9 beneficiaries from the douars Tinzart, Mrigha Aloulia, and Laâzib (Ouirgane commune). Despite attempts by local authorities to contact him, he did not rectify the situation. The victims were invited to file complaints with the public prosecutor's office.
In response to allegations concerning the "recommendation" of the first entrepreneur by a Caid and authority agents, the minister specified that the Caid was not mentioned in the filed complaints. However, two authority agents were officially heard and affirmed that their role was limited to providing information to entrepreneurs to accelerate reconstruction work.
Another case of abuse was revealed concerning a Moqaddem of Douar Mrigha, accused of having demanded sums from citizens in exchange for promises of interventions to guarantee their access to aid. The latter was dismissed from his duties on 2 December 2024.
According to the minister, an entrepreneur based in Douar Bouzouq (Aït Mellou commune) defrauded 14 beneficiaries in Douar Taghzout and 4 others in Douar Tinmel by not respecting the contracts signed with them. The promised work was not finalised and technical standards were ignored.
In a written response to a question from a member of the Justice and Development parliamentary group, the minister specified that the local authorities, informed of these irregularities, had asked the concerned entrepreneur to complete the work according to standards and to respect the contracts.
They also forced him to reimburse the sums received. Furthermore, the victims were invited to file individual complaints with the public prosecutor's office to potentially prosecute the entrepreneur for breach of trust and carrying out non-compliant work. The entrepreneur was arrested by the Royal Gendarmerie in Aït Melloul.
A second entrepreneur, residing in Douar Tassa Ouirkan (Ouirgane commune), is also accused of having failed to meet his commitments with the inhabitants of Douar Al Arab (Asni commune). The latter is currently the subject of a search warrant.
Finally, a third entrepreneur, originally from Béni Mellal, did not honour his contracts with 9 beneficiaries from the douars Tinzart, Mrigha Aloulia, and Laâzib (Ouirgane commune). Despite attempts by local authorities to contact him, he did not rectify the situation. The victims were invited to file complaints with the public prosecutor's office.
In response to allegations concerning the "recommendation" of the first entrepreneur by a Caid and authority agents, the minister specified that the Caid was not mentioned in the filed complaints. However, two authority agents were officially heard and affirmed that their role was limited to providing information to entrepreneurs to accelerate reconstruction work.
Another case of abuse was revealed concerning a Moqaddem of Douar Mrigha, accused of having demanded sums from citizens in exchange for promises of interventions to guarantee their access to aid. The latter was dismissed from his duties on 2 December 2024.
