Morocco ex-minister gets 13 years in prison over corruption

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Rabat: A Moroccan court has sentenced former Public Function minister Mohamed Mubdii to 13 years in prison following a high-profile trial for severe corruption and the embezzlement of public funds.

The ruling, handed down by the Casablanca Court of Appeal, also ordered the 72-year-old politician to pay 30 million dirhams (approximately 2.8 million euros) in financial compensation.

The judges rejected all of Mubdii's defence arguments, which he has consistently maintained are false. Ultimately, the court found the former official guilty of a sweeping list of economic crimes, including the squandering of public assets, influence peddling, bribery, abuse of power, and the forgery of administrative documents.

The major legal case initially erupted in 2023 following a formal complaint lodged by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Funds. The watchdog's alert exposed massive financial irregularities within the central municipality of Fki Besalé, where Mubdii had served as mayor for six consecutive terms.