Rabat – The judiciary police of Tan-Tan, southern Morocco, have arrested two individuals, including a police officer of brigadier rank, suspected of forgery and illegally accessing a computer system data.
The arrests took place on Saturday, January 25, says a press release from Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
Preliminary investigations revealed that the police officer and his accomplice, who works at a driving school, forged certificates of residence in the name of other citizens.
The police officer allegedly accessed the police department’s data processing computer system reserved for identity documents. He also used the system to create and renew false certificates and identity cards.
The two suspects will remain in custody pending the public prosecutor’s office investigation.
Morocco’s fight against corruption
The operation is the latest in a series of investigations targeting Moroccan officials as part of the national anti-corruption plan.
On Tuesday, January 21, Moroccan police arrested a Member of Parliament (MP), Abderrahim El Kamil, for corruption.
The MP, who chairs the Ouahat Sidi Brahim commune in the region of Marrakech, faces charges of corruption after accusations from a Moroccan living abroad.
The suspect allegedly asked the plaintiff for a sum of MAD 110,000 (more than €10,000) in return for an administrative service.
On the same day, Morocco’s Head of Government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, said Morocco is on the right track in the fight against corruption.
Morocco is currently operating the 2016-2025 national anti-corruption strategy. The plan includes a program for e-administration, programs for ethics, transparency, and access to information, and a program for public contracts, control, and accountability.
However, a large part of Moroccans do not believe the strategy is effective in curbing institutional corruption.
In December 2019, a study revealed that 74% of Moroccans believe the government is not doing enough to tackle corruption and that politicians are actively involved in bribery and corrupt practice.
About 53% of the Moroccans who took part in the survey believe institutional corruption is on the rise and more than 31% admitted to paying a bribe in the past 12 months.
