The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Fes, presided over by Judge Haida, has delivered its verdicts in the case involving a network associated with the municipal garage of Oujda. This case implicated 19 individuals on charges related to the embezzlement and misappropriation of public and private funds, forgery, as well as the theft and dismantling of vehicles and motorcycles.
In a decisive ruling, the court dismissed all procedural defenses presented and sentenced M.L., identified as the leader of the network, to five years of imprisonment along with a financial penalty of 50,000 dirhams. Co-defendants Z.L. and M.A. received four years of prison time each, with fines of 40,000 dirhams for the former and 50,000 dirhams for the latter, in addition to the confiscation of a firearm found in the possession of M.A. for the benefit of national defense.
Further sentences included three years of imprisonment and a 30,000 dirham fine for A.S. due to his involvement in the criminal activities, while M.K., a public servant, was handed a two-and-a-half-year prison term and a 30,000 dirham fine following a re-evaluation of the charges against him.
Additionally, the court sentenced A.R. and S.S. to two years in prison with a fine of 20,000 dirhams each. Meanwhile, defendants A.K., R.K., H.S., Y.M., A.M., and A.K. were sentenced to one and a half years in prison, with fines ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 dirhams. Also, I.H., A.N., and S.L. received one year in prison along with a 10,000 dirham fine each, while M.H. and B.B. were sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 500 dirhams each. Lastly, M.A.R. was given four months in prison with the same financial penalty.
The court also ordered legal repercussions regarding the confiscated items, mandating the seizure of parts from illegal vehicles for the benefit of state property, while legal phones and vehicles, along with financial amounts, were to be returned to their rightful owners.
On the civil side, the court held the convicted individuals liable for the financial losses incurred due to their criminal activities, ordering M.L. and Z.L. to collectively pay a compensation of 511,150 dirhams to the municipality of Oujda, representing the difference between collected and deposited amounts. Additionally, all nineteen defendants were required to pay a total compensatory amount of 2,132,500 dirhams to the civil claimants, equivalent to the estimated value of the embezzled and misappropriated vehicles, with the minimum threshold for coercive measures being established.
Following the announcement of the verdicts, the presiding judge informed the defendants of their right to appeal within ten days as provided by law.
The extensive technical and field investigations conducted by the regional judicial police in Fes led to the dismantling of this organized network, which was reportedly led by the director of the municipal garage in Oujda. Investigations revealed significant discrepancies between the records of the Oujda security department and the official register of the municipality, with a considerable number of vehicles arriving at the garage being unrecorded. This maneuver was aimed at concealing their theft and subsequent disposal, resulting in direct embezzlement exceeding 100,000 dirhams in collection fees, in addition to the estimated value of the missing vehicles, which ranged between 2.17 million and 2.5 million dirhams.
The mastermind behind the network confessed during the investigation stages, providing details of the criminal scheme, asserting that he managed the distribution of roles among organization members while actively working to obscure the crimes committed. He benefitted from a network of connections that enabled him to track the progress of judicial files related to the confiscated vehicles, facilitating their embezzlement and resale or dismantling.
As reported by nadorcity.com.
