HIBAPRESS – Fikri Ouldali
The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Fes, responsible for financial crimes, decided on Monday, February 23, 2026, to postpone the reconsideration of the file of the trial of a number of executives and officials of the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion, against the backdrop of what has become known as the "Badis Housing Complex" case in Al Hoceima, until April 6, due to the absence of a number of defendants from the trial session.
This postponement comes after the Court of Cassation's decision to accept the appeal filed by the Public Prosecution against the appeals court rulings issued on March 9, 2022, which sparked widespread controversy in public opinion, after leading to a reduction in custodial sentences against some of the followers, in exchange for acquitting a significant number of defendants of charges related to embezzlement and squandering of public funds. The case's origin dates back to irregularities that marred the completion and marketing of the "Badis Housing" project, which sparked a wave of complaints from beneficiaries, especially from members of the Moroccan community residing abroad, regarding what they described as the high prices of apartments compared to their real value, in addition to observations related to the quality of the works and infrastructure. The project had received special national attention, following the royal instructions given during a visit in 2014 to Al Hoceima, to open an investigation into its circumstances, which put the file under the public eye since then. The previous appeals court rulings had sentenced to reduce the prison sentences issued in the first instance against some officials, with the acquittal of about 25 defendants, which prompted the Public Prosecution to pursue the cassation procedure, to return the file to square one before a new appeals body, within the framework of what the law allows for retrial after cassation.
