Tangier official sentenced to seven years in prison for forgery

A Tangier Court of Appeal has sentenced Ahmed Zakkaf, the deputy president of the Maghoga district and a member of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) party, to seven years in prison. The ruling follows investigations into a case involving the forgery of official and administrative documents used to manipulate real estate registration processes.

The case originated from a complaint by a Moroccan resident living abroad, who accused Zakkaf of seizing property in the Al-Hararsh area of Tangier. Investigations by judicial police revealed the use of suspicious administrative certificates to alter land data and plot sizes, facilitating the rapid resale of properties. One specific document regarding a 5,717-square-meter plot in the Tangier Balia neighborhood was found to have no record in official administrative archives.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the destruction of the forged documents. Zakkaf was also ordered to pay financial compensation to several victims, including individual claimants awarded 1 million dirhams each, and 100,000 dirhams to the Wali of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region and a local administrative official. The court found him guilty of forming a criminal gang, forging official and private documents, and fraud.