On this occasion, Mr. M'hammed Abdennabaoui, President-Delegate of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, indicated in his speech that the adaptation of the Moroccan legislation to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force and to the international standards governing the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, through the introduction of amendments to the provisions of the law n°43.05 relating to the fight against money laundering, by virtue of law n°12. 18 promulgated by Dahir of 8 June 2021, constitutes an opportunity for the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power to carry out its role of supervising and training judges concerned by the application of this law, especially after the extension of the jurisdiction of follow-up, investigation and prosecution of money laundering offenses, to include, alongside the Court of First Instance of Rabat, the courts of Casablanca, Marrakech and Fez.

The President-Delegate also affirmed that the establishment of a culture to fight against money laundering in Morocco is carried out according to a participatory and cumulative approach that responds to the international requirements, taking into account the economic, social and legal specificities of the country, adding that this insightful and interactive vision with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force has served as a basis for various substantive and formal legal amendments that have been introduced to the anti-money laundering laws.

He also underlined that expanding the circle of local jurisdiction of prosecution, investigation and prosecution of money laundering crimes will undoubtedly lead to more security and judicial efficiency in the fight against various forms of money laundering, and the protection of the national economy and the preservation of the cleanliness of the economic cycle of the Kingdom.

Along the same note, Mr. President-Delegate stressed that the Moroccan authorities are working to protect the national economy and prevent it from being compromised by the proceeds of criminal activities and avoid the repercussions that this could have on the reputation, transparency and credibility of official institutions with international financial bodies, through the Kingdom’s adoption of several procedural measures at several legislative, regulatory and judicial levels.

He also added that this training session will provide an opportunity to introduce these measures in a global way, especially from the legislative point of view, by examining the national laws and international conventions framing the crime of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and the amendments that have been made in response to the new international standards, then from an organizational point of view by referring to the different institutions involved in the monitoring of subordinate organizations, and by receiving the suspicion reports, analyzing the data, and giving them an appropriate course of action, as well as a judicial review of inquiry and investigation techniques, and the specificities of the proceedings.

To conclude, the President-Delegate stated that the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power will follow up on the results of these trainings and implement their recommendations, in order to increase judicial efficiency in the fight against money laundering offenses, by invoking the royal directives contained in the speech addressed to the 31st Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Nouakchott, during which His Majesty warned against the danger of corruption, which contributes to perverting the rules of democratic practice and undermining the rule of law.