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Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Justice Mohamed Ben Abdelkader said the country recorded a total of 390 cases in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing between 2019 and 2020.
During a meeting on Wednesday in Meknes, a city in northern Morocco, Ben Abdelkader specified that authorities detected 229 cases of terrorism financing and money laundering in 2019, as well as 161 cases in 2020.
He said that some of the cases are still under criminal investigation.
Ben Abdelkader said that the Ministry of Justice is preparing a draft resolution to intensify Morocco’s legal and judicial professions’ involvement in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Morocco’s security services criminalize money laundering and terrorist financing in accordance with international standards.
Over the years, the Moroccan government has repeatedly vowed to strengthen its approach in combating money laundering and terror financing.
Earlier this month, the minister said the country is putting in place a more effective approach.
“This strategy aims to get the legal professionals — lawyers, notaries, and Adouls (religious notaries) — to adhere to national efforts in the fight against money laundering, especially when used to finance terrorism,” he said.
He called on lawyers to increase efforts to implement measures to raise awareness against the issue.
In July, Ben Abdelkader said that his department worked to promote commitment to international standards in this area.
In Morocco, the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare (ACAPS) is the body in charge of “ensuring” that institutions subject to its supervision abide by the provisions of the law relating to the fight against money laundering.
ACAPS has said that it places money laundeing and the financing of terrorism among its priorities.
The body noted that it has been working “to prevent the use of insurance companies and intermediaries in any financial crime related to money laundering or terrorism financing.”
