Maghreb Edition

Morocco’s Billions Stashed in Private Swiss Accounts

Posted On 10 March 2015

Number of times this article was read : 323

It is not such a shocking news to learn that Africa’s political and business leaders have long been breaching the trust of their nations by moving money into confidential and untraceable offshore accounts. 
 Corruption, a non-existent justice system, widespread fraud and deeply corrupt political systems make the ransacking of African assets an easy exercise for those in power. But these leaders would not have had easy time moving money without the direct support of equally corrupt global banks, with Switzerland among the nations that promote global theft with its banking secrecy laws. What is actually shocking is that Morocco is listed as the second biggest source of African money stashed at HSBC in Switzerland. What is also shocking is that Morocco is effectively the most indebted nation in Africa and the Arab world, making any reasoning as to why the country’s leaders hide their money in private Swiss banks impossible to justify.

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The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.