Fraud Complaint in Morocco: 2026 Procedure

A fraud complaint in Morocco is not based solely on a loss of money. Article 540 of the Criminal Code, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-59-413 of 26 November 1962, applies to anyone who seeks an unlawful financial gain by deceitfully misleading a person through false statements, concealment of true facts, or exploitation of that person’s error. This scheme must have induced an act detrimental to the financial interests of the victim or a third party. In practical terms, the falsehood must have played a causal role in the payment or commitment.

Simple fraud is punishable by one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 5,000 DH. Article 540 provides for an increased penalty where the offender made a public offering involving shares, bonds, notes, interests, or securities of a commercial or industrial company or enterprise: the term of imprisonment is doubled and the maximum fine reaches 100,000 DH. This aggravating circumstance is specific. It does not automatically apply to every fraud promoted on social media or every collection of money from several people.

Breach of trust under Article 547 follows a different rationale. The property, money, goods, or document is first lawfully entrusted subject to an obligation to return it, produce it, or use it as agreed. The offence then arises if the recipient misappropriates or dissipates it in bad faith, to the detriment of the owner, possessor, or holder. The basic penalty is six months to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200 to 2,000 DH. Specific circumstances may increase the penalty.

In practice, a sham investment project devised before payments were made may constitute fraud. An agent who receives money to purchase property and then knowingly uses it for another purpose may be liable for breach of trust. Conversely, a delayed construction project, a company that has become insolvent, or an unpaid loan does not automatically constitute a criminal offence. The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the court look for affirmative acts of deception or misappropriation, not merely poor performance of a contract.

An ordinary complaint may be filed at a police station, with the Royal Gendarmerie, or directly with the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of First Instance. The King’s Public Prosecutor may instruct the judicial police to investigate, request additional information, initiate prosecution, or close the case without further action. No court fee is payable for filing. Request a reference number or retain a dated copy of the complaint submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Any private promise to expedite the matter in exchange for payment must be refused and, depending on the circumstances, reported to the authorities.

Territorial jurisdiction depends in particular on the place where the offence was committed, the suspect’s residence, or the place of arrest, in accordance with the rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure. For digital fraud, the appropriate venue may be disputed where the schemes, payment, and receipt of funds occurred in different cities. A complaint submitted to a Public Prosecutor’s Office lacking territorial jurisdiction may be transferred, but this redirection takes time. Where there are several victims, specify the courts already seised and any known reference numbers.

A civil-party complaint is submitted to the investigating judge pursuant to Articles 92 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It allows a person claiming to have been harmed by a felony or misdemeanour to request the opening of a judicial investigation, subject to the conditions and safeguards prescribed by law. Note that Law No. 03-23 amending and supplementing the Code of Criminal Procedure is applicable in 2026. Before any direct filing, the consolidated version, any required preliminary steps, and the investigating judge’s jurisdiction should therefore be verified with the court registry.

The investigating judge generally sets a security deposit intended to cover costs that may be charged to the complainant, except where legal aid or a statutory exemption applies. There is no uniform national fee schedule. According to reported practice in 2026, it often amounts to several hundred to several thousand dirhams in an ordinary case, frequently between 500 and 3,000 DH, but the amount depends on the judge and the case. A civil-party complaint guarantees neither the opening of a formal investigation against a person, nor referral for trial, nor conviction.

Article 286 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes the principle of freedom of evidence in criminal matters, unless otherwise provided by law. The judge rules according to their intimate conviction on the basis of the evidence subjected to adversarial examination. Gather the agreements, invoices, receipts, cheques, acknowledgements, statements, transfer orders, advertisements, and documents provided by the suspect. Promptly ask the bank for any supporting documents still available. An original must never be annotated, cut, or altered; submit a copy and indicate where the original is kept.

Emails, text messages, WhatsApp conversations, web pages, and publications may be added to the case file. Law No. 53-05 on the electronic exchange of legal data and Articles 417-1 et seq. of the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts recognise electronic documents subject to certain identification and integrity requirements. A simple cropped screenshot may nevertheless be challenged. Export the full conversation, retain the attachments and original phone, preserve email headers, and record the exact address of web pages before they are deleted.

A bailiff’s report may describe a profile, conversation, or page accessible on a specified date. It does not automatically prove that the suspect controlled the account or that the published statements were true. In significant cases, a digital forensic examination may identify metadata and verify file consistency. Never access the suspect’s phone, email, or account without authorisation. Offences relating to automated data processing systems are provided for, in particular, by Articles 607-3 to 607-11 of the Criminal Code.

Witnesses should report facts they personally observed, together with their full contact details, rather than repeat the complainant’s conclusions. In a financial case, an accounting expert examination may reconstruct fund flows, distinguish partial repayments, and calculate the net loss. Also attach a copy of your identity document, bank account details where the payment is relevant, and any document establishing a company’s legal standing to act. Foreign documents may require a sworn translation and, depending on their origin, legalisation or an apostille.

Fraud is a misdemeanor. Article 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes, in principle, a limitation period of four full years for criminal proceedings concerning misdemeanors, unless a special rule applies. Some older materials still mention five years, a period that no longer corresponds to the regime resulting from Law No. 35-11. In 2026, the consolidated version also incorporating Law No. 03-23 must be consulted. For a single transaction, the period normally runs from the date on which the acts were committed, not automatically from the date on which the victim discovered them.

Successive transactions require an act-by-act analysis. Several transfers obtained through the same scheme may raise questions about the date on which the offence was completed and whether each transfer is autonomous. Article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure governs, in particular, the interruption of the limitation period by investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial investigation acts that meet the statutory conditions. A formal notice, negotiation, or complaint that does not result in any interruptive act should not be presumed sufficient. You should therefore act before the time limit approaches.

No general time limit requires a preliminary investigation to be completed in every fraud case. Based on the time frames observed by practitioners in 2026, an ordinary case may take approximately three to twelve months, while a complex judicial investigation may take twelve to thirty-six months, and sometimes longer. These figures do not come from an official scale and do not constitute a guarantee. Bank information requests, digital expert examinations, numerous victims, changes of address, and requests for international cooperation account for a significant portion of delays.

No filing tax is payable for a simple complaint. The deposit required when joining proceedings as a civil party, translations, expert examinations, and bailiff’s instruments remain payable by the person requesting them, subject to a ruling on costs or legal aid. In 2026, quoted fees observed for a simple digital evidentiary report are often between 800 and 2,500 DH, while an expert examination may cost several thousand dirhams. Lawyers’ fees frequently range from 5,000 to 15,000 DH for a routine case and exceed 30,000 DH for a complex case, with no mandatory fee schedule.

Civil proceedings arising from an offence are governed by Articles 7 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The victim must join the proceedings as a civil party and submit a quantified claim supported by evidence of the capital lost, directly resulting expenses, and alleged moral harm. The court may reduce or reject amounts that are insufficiently proven. If no admissible civil claim is made, a criminal conviction does not automatically result in reimbursement. A separate action before the civil court may then need to be considered, subject to the limitation period and the binding authority of the criminal decision.

After an enforceable decision has been obtained, it must be served when that formality is required and then enforced by the authorized professionals. Measures may target bank accounts, claims against third parties, movable property, income within the applicable attachable limits, and real property. The formalities differ depending on the asset. For registered real property, registrations with the ANCFCC are decisive. The successful party must also monitor any appeals or appeals to the Court of Cassation and verify whether provisional enforcement has been ordered or whether the decision is final.

Insolvency remains the main practical obstacle. Moroccan law does not provide for a general fund that automatically compensates all victims of fraud. Imprisonment for debt, where legally available, is subject to strict conditions and does not replace enforcement against assets; it creates no assets for an insolvent debtor. Assets must therefore be traced lawfully, land certificates must be updated, and information obtained through judicial channels must be used. Fraudulent access to banking, tax, or personal records remains prohibited, even when preparing for enforcement.

A lawyer is not required to file a simple complaint, but their involvement may prevent an incorrect legal classification or an inadmissible civil claim. The lawyer may also coordinate the complaint, the application to join the proceedings as a civil party, protective attachment, and enforcement, which are separate procedures. Request a fee agreement specifying the stages covered, hearings, appeals, travel, and external costs. In practical terms, promptly provide any summons, order, or copy of a judgment, because a late appeal may be declared inadmissible regardless of the merits of the case.