HIBAPRESS – Abdelatif Baraka
Regional customs control services in Agadir, Casablanca, and Tangier have opened in-depth investigations into suspicions related to commercial transactions described as "suspicious," involving three companies operating in the field of import and export, against the backdrop of irregularities detected in customs declarations for the value of imported and exported goods.
Data related to the case reveals that it concerns possible manipulations in commercial invoices, where unnatural differences in declared prices were recorded, reaching in some cases more than 30 percent compared to the actual values in the international markets, which raised the attention of customs control agencies and prompted them to expand the circle of research and scrutiny. These developments come in the context of tightening control over foreign trade chains in Morocco, especially in light of the growing warnings about the use of some companies as facades for illegal financial operations, including money laundering or transferring unjustified profits abroad. The ongoing investigations, which are being carried out in coordination with European partners in Spain, France, and Belgium, indicate the existence of commercial links with parties suspected of being linked to international drug trafficking networks, which are data that are still under verification by the competent authorities, pending the results of the joint financial and security investigations. According to informed sources, the volume of the transactions under suspicion is estimated at more than 930 million dirhams, with profits exceeding the normal rates known in the sector, which reinforces the hypothesis of intentional inflation in invoices or unjustified financial transfers outside legal channels. In this context, the National Financial Information Authority was notified, in a step aimed at deepening financial investigations and linking internal data with their international counterparts, especially with regard to tracking the movement of funds across borders and detecting any possible link with money laundering networks. According to observers, this case reflects the qualitative shift in the working mechanisms of the Moroccan customs administration, which is increasingly relying on advanced digital tools and data analysis and artificial intelligence techniques to detect irregularities in real time, instead of being content with traditional monitoring. The initial data also showed clear discrepancies between the declared prices of goods and their reference prices in international markets, which was considered an additional indicator of the possibility of intentional manipulation of commercial documents and invoices. In addition to that, the coordination operations between customs and both the General Directorate of Taxes and the Exchange Office revealed that part of the profits achieved was not transferred through the official financial channels within Morocco, which opens the door to questions about the nature of these financial flows and their real paths. These investigations come within the framework of a broader strategy aimed at enhancing transparency in foreign trade, strengthening financial control mechanisms, and reducing all forms of evasion and manipulation that may affect the balance of the national economy and the confidence of investors.
