Rabat – The Moroccan Ministry of Interior has revealed that over 27 individuals affected by the Al Haouz earthquake were victims of fraud at the hands of several construction contractors.
Responding to a written question in the House of Representatives, the ministry said it carried out an investigation on the matter. The inquiry established that a contractor residing in the Bouzouk Ait Mellou village defrauded 14 beneficiaries of state support in the Taghzout village in the Imkdal commune and four others in Tinmel village in the Tlat N’Yaaqoub commune, the ministry said.
The contractor failed to honor the contracts he had signed with them, the ministry explained, specifying that he did not complete the construction work or adhere to the established technical standards.
Local authorities contacted the contractor upon learning about the violations and urged him to resume construction work in compliance with established standards and the contracts they signed, or refund them.
According to the ministry, the authorities advised victims to file individual complaints with the Public Prosecution to initiate legal proceedings for “breach of trust and conducting construction works without adhering to technical standards.” The contractor in question was later arrested by the Royal Gendarmerie in Ait Melloul, Agadir.
The ministry further revealed that another contractor residing in Tassa Ouirgane village in the Ouirgane commune violated the contract he signed with several beneficiaries from Douar Al Arab in the Asni commune. He is currently the subject of a search notice.
Read also: One Year Mark Since Al Haouz Earthquake: High Atlas on Slow but Sturdy Recovery
A third contractor, residing in Beni Mellal, also failed to respect the contracts he signed with nine beneficiaries from the villages of Tizart, Merigha Al-Oulia, and Al-Aazib.
Local authorities attempted to reach the contractor and urged him to comply with the terms of the contracts, as well as advised the victims to file individual complaints with the Public Prosecution.
The ministry of interior noted that regional authorities in Al Haouz region are taking strict disciplinary measures against any local authority aids proven to have participated in defrauding or extorting citizens.
This includes the dismissal of a local authority aid in the Merigha village of the Ouirgane Weirkan commune after he was found guilty of demanding money from some earthquake victims in exchange for promises to intervene with central authorities to ensure they received allocated support.
The 6.9 magnitude earthquake devastated several regions in central Morocco in September 2023, claiming the lives of nearly 3,000 people and caused massive destruction to buildings and infrastructure.
The government has announced that every family who had lost their home would receive MAD 140,000 (around $14,000) to rebuild their homes.
