Rabat – The trial of Rachid Fayek, a member of Morocco’s ruling party the National Rally of Independents (RNI), and 15 others for alleged embezzlement of public money and fraud is set to start later this month.
The trial was originally supposed to start on April 5, but it has been postponed to offer the defense time to build their case, and will now begin on April 26.
Rachid El Fayek alongside his brother Hicham El Fayek and 14 others are facing charges of fraud, embezzlement of public money, corruption, and abuse of power.
The news comes almost two weeks after the RNI announced the suspension of the El Fayek brothers from the party.
Rachid El Fayek, an MP and president of the “Oulad Tayib” prefecture (a small town on the outskirts of Fes) is involved in what is known in Moroccan media as the ‘real estate mafia.’
The El Fayek brothers alongside other public local representatives, as well as private workers in engineering, and real estate among other fields, had been allegedly redirecting state funds meant for public projects to fund personal investments, according to multiple news reports.
In addition, the brothers allegedly used their position as prefecture officials to issue fraudulent official documents.
The first complaints against the El Fayek brothers emerged in 2018 when locals filed a lawsuit against the Oulad Tayib council, accusing it of confiscating public funds meant for the construction of a high school, news reports point out.
During initial hearings at the public prosecutor’s office, a number of entrepreneurs said they had to pay up to MAD 20,000 ($2,000) in bribes to procure construction licenses, reports say.
The management of public funds in this rural town has been under question for many years.
A report from Morocco’s commission of accountability in 2014 points out a number of inconsistencies in how the rural prefecture is managed.
The report indicates that despite witnessing intensive construction activities, the town is still missing a number of basic public facilities.
The long list of anomalies includes tax evasion and issuing of construction licenses without due process.
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