Bioui and Naciri, former lawmakers — sentenced to 12 and 10 years. A court handed prison sentences of up to 12 years to 29 people — including politicians and sports and business figures — in an international scandal that reignited a national debate over corruption in political life.
As the judge read out the verdicts, shouts rang out from the defendants’ box. “I am innocent. I haven’t done anything”, some yelled. Relatives screamed. Some collapsed to the floor. Others wept as police officers pushed through the crowd to restore order in packed courtroom No. 8. A court had just sentenced 29 people — including prominent politicians and sports and business figures — in an international drug trafficking and corruption case that has rocked the country.
The court also ordered the defendants to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines after a trial that lasted more than two years and involved 30 defendants, 18 witnesses, and two civil parties. One defendant was acquitted. Attorneys can appeal the ruling.
“I am innocent. I haven’t done anything”. — Defendants in courtroom No. 8, Casablanca
The sentences
Abdennebi Bioui, a construction tycoon and former lawmaker who headed a Regional Council, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $15,989. Said Naciri, a former lawmaker and former president of Wydad AC — one of the country’s most prominent soccer clubs — was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Belkacem Mir, a former lawmaker and former president of a soccer club, also received 10 years.
Other defendants received sentences of up to nine years and fines of up to $26,649. Charges included drug and gold trafficking, corruption, forgery, and violations of exchange control regulations.
The court ordered the seizure of assets belonging to several defendants — including Bioui, Naciri, and Mir — capped at $1 million. It also ordered hundreds of millions of dollars in financial penalties to be paid to customs authorities, with the bulk to be paid jointly by the three men. The court further ordered Bioui, Naciri, and Mir to jointly pay Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim $106,599.
How the case began
The case originated with an imprisoned drug kingpin dubbed “Sahara’s Pablo Escobar” — Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim, a jailed Malian drug lord — who alleged that some of his business associates, including senior politicians, were involved in drug trafficking and had seized his assets while he was in prison. Those accused denied the allegations.
Police documents presented in court show that Ben Brahim accused his partners of involvement in an international gold trafficking network and of seizing his assets, including a luxury villa, high-end apartments, and dozens of cars. Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique reported that Ben Brahim teamed up with politicians to transport cannabis resin to Libya, Egypt, and Mauritania.
- Source: The Associated Press