He was speaking at the opening session of the annual meeting of law enforcement authorities, organized by the National Financial Intelligence Authority on Friday, December 19, 2025, in Rabat, under the theme “Practical Challenges in the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: Seizure and Confiscation as a Model,” in the presence of judicial and security officials and representatives of the various institutions concerned.
The President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office underlined that this annual meeting has become a firmly established institutional event and a specialized national forum for dialogue, the exchange of views, the assessment of experiences, and forward-looking reflection on the development of the national framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. In this regard, he praised the strategic partnership and ongoing coordination between the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Financial Intelligence Authority.
He also noted that the choice of seizure and confiscation as the central theme carries particular importance in light of the rapid transformations of the global economy and the evolving criminal methods aimed at concealing and laundering illicit proceeds, in addition to the direct link between this issue and the mutual evaluation process of the national system scheduled for the 2026–2028 period.
The President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that the practical challenges related to tracing, seizing, and confiscating criminal assets are multiplying due to the transnational nature of crime, the complexity of the financial and digital structures used, difficulties in accessing financial data and identifying beneficial owners, as well as constraints linked to the management of seized and confiscated assets and the preservation of their economic value.
In this context, he stressed that the effectiveness of seizure and confiscation procedures is not limited to the adoption of judicial decisions, but rather requires the establishment of integrated procedural, technical, and institutional mechanisms enabling the identification of criminal assets, their inventory and valuation, the execution of confiscation decisions, and their proper management in the public interest.
He further emphasized that the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office has made this area a priority of its criminal policy, through the development of financial investigation mechanisms, the strengthening of information exchange with the National Financial Intelligence Authority, the establishment of digital platforms and applications for monitoring money laundering cases and international judicial cooperation, as well as the preparation of practical guides and the enhancement of the capacities of public prosecutors through specialized training programs and the exchange of international expertise.
At the international level, the President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office highlighted the institution’s involvement in several regional and international initiatives related to the tracing and recovery of criminal assets, notably the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for North Africa and the Middle East (MENA ARIN), African Union initiatives, cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and United Nations bodies, as well as its contribution to the evaluation of the national framework within the scope of relevant international conventions.
He finally stated that the approach adopted in matters of seizure and confiscation is based on achieving a balance between strengthening the effectiveness of the fight against economic and financial crime and guaranteeing respect for rights and freedoms, foremost among them the right to property, while avoiding any unjustified infringement on legitimate economic activities. This approach, he noted, is enshrined in the provisions of the new Code of Criminal Procedure.
The President of the Public Prosecutor’s Office concluded by affirming that strengthening the seizure and confiscation framework and the management of seized assets requires effective institutional governance, qualified human resources, advanced technical capacities, and close coordination among all stakeholders, expressing his confidence that this meeting will result in practical recommendations capable of supporting national efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Editorial team/le7tv