Court of Appeal Upholds Ruling Against IAM in Favor of Wana, Awarding MAD 6.4 Billion in Damages

Marrakech – The Commercial Court of Appeal in Casablanca has confirmed the ruling against Maroc Telecom (IAM) for abuse of its dominant market position.

The court’s decision, issued today requires the telecom giant to pay damages amounting to MAD 6.4 billion ($640 million) to its competitor, Wana Corporate (Inwi).

The ruling upholds the initial judgment made by the Commercial Court of Rabat in late January, following a two-year legal battle.

According to Medias24, Wana had accused IAM of monopolizing the telecommunications infrastructure despite the liberalization of the market more than a decade ago.

As a result of this appeal court decision, IAM’s conviction becomes enforceable, obligating the company to pay the awarded damages to Wana. The latter now has the option to initiate forced execution proceedings to secure the payment.

This landmark ruling sets a precedent for private actions related to anti-competitive practices in Morocco. Previously, the only sanctions in this domain were administrative penalties imposed by competition regulatory authorities.

IAM had already been subject to two such penalties by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) – a fine amounting to MAD 3 billion ($300 million) in 2020 and another of MAD 2.7 ($270 million) million in 2022.

Wana relied on the first administrative sanction to seek compensation through the courts. In the initial proceedings, the judges based their decision on technical expertise to determine the harm suffered by Wana due to IAM’s abuse of its dominant position.

The Commercial Court concluded that “as established by the ANRT’s decision, IAM’s anti-competitive practices constitute a tortious fault that caused Wana to suffer damages, resulting in lost profits in the ADSL, IDAR, mobile and fixed telephony, and internet markets.”

According to the judges, Wana was deprived of any “profit” in the markets concerned and was prevented from making significant investments in the sector, resulting in “real harm.”