A case of embezzlement involving 690,000 dirhams at a local branch of the Banque Populaire has just broken out in Essaouira.

On Thursday, 26 April 2012, the second investigation brigade led by the Judicial Police arrested the main suspect in Essaouira after he had been the subject of several wanted notices since December 2011.

M-B, aged 30, accused of embezzlement of public funds, breach of trust, forgery of commercial documents, and issuing uncovered cheques, was brought before the Marrakech Court of Appeal on Saturday, 28 April, accompanied by the head cashier and the branch manager.

According to security sources, the main suspect committed his crime using two methods: he would give clients falsified deposit receipts without actually depositing the money into their accounts. In the second scenario, he abused the trust of illiterate clients who entrusted him with tracking their withdrawals, for which he would falsify the amounts in their account books.

This case came to light following a complaint from Maroc Telecom after discovering the previous disappearance of 130,000 dirhams deposited into its account. Complaints followed thereafter, reporting financial holes in the accounts of clients at this branch, where the main suspect had worked since 2007.