Rabat – The case concerning the alleged embezzlement of public funds related to the Azzouzia bus terminal project in Marrakech has strongly resurfaced online this month.
Converging reports have reported on the case within the past few weeks, after the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Property (AMPBP) Marrakech-South, filed a complaint in April over alleged public fund embezzlement, illicit enrichment, and alleged abuse of power related to the case.
The case was referred to the public prosecutor in the Marrakech appeals court, a statement from the association said, noting that the case also includes an alleged conflict of interest tied to the construction of the busterminal – an unfinished MAD 120 million ($12.8 million) project that remains dysfunctional for over two years after completion.
In the statement, the association said that the project has been completed but remains non-operational, noting that professionals in the transportation sector argue that this project “does not meet necessary standards and has construction flaws.”
For the association, the same professionals see that the bus station is “unfit to serve as a proper terminal, unlike those in Rabat or Tangier.”
The same source said the project dates back to when the municipal council in Marrakech approved the construction of the project, as well as a taxi station and the expansion of the municipal market on state-owned land in the Al Azzouzia area in Marrakech.
“However, this approval was granted without consulting or receiving approval from transport professionals who own 60% of the shares in the current company managing the Bab Doukkala bus terminal,” the statement detailed, noting that the Marrakech Municipal Council owns 20% and the National Company for Transport and Logistics owns the remaining 20%.
The same source said that the construction approval took place during the 2009-2015 term, adding that professionals warned that the statutes of the company managing the Bab Doukkala terminal do not permit the municipal council or any other party to decide on establishing a competing terminal without unanimous agreement from all stakeholders.”
Suspecting a case of embezzlement, the association filed a complaint and submitted it to the public prosecutor. They further called for an investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.
In 2024, Morocco’s National Judicial Agency reportedly announced that the country recovered over $7.2 million in embezzled public funds in the year 2022.
