A month after a controversial first ruling…
The Fez Court of Appeal has dramatically changed the outcome of the money laundering case linked to the Esprit de Fès Foundation, organizer of the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music.
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The biggest development?
Six of the defendants have been fully acquitted.
Among them is Faouzi Skali, the founder of the festival, along with several other officials who had previously been convicted at first instance.
The appeal judges ruled that there was not enough basis to uphold the money laundering convictions against them.
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Only one defendant remains convicted.
Abderrafie Zouiten, president of the Esprit de Fès Foundation, saw his sentence significantly reduced.
His punishment was lowered from two years suspended to one year suspended, while his fine was cut in half, from 100,000 to 50,000 dirhams.
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The court also overturned most of the confiscation orders.
During the first trial, judges had ordered the seizure of real estate, movable assets and bank accounts belonging to several defendants.
The appeal court cancelled those confiscations for everyone who was acquitted.
For Zouiten, only his bank accounts remain subject to confiscation, while the seizure of his real estate and other assets was lifted.
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Why is this decision so significant?
Because many legal experts questioned the first judgment.
Several defendants had already been cleared in the original case concerning the management of the foundation, yet they were later convicted for money laundering.
The defence argued that money laundering normally requires an underlying criminal offence, making those convictions legally difficult to justify.
The appeal court’s ruling largely follows that reasoning.
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The appeal process itself moved unusually fast.
The appeal was filed on 22 June, the first hearing took place the following day, deliberations ended on 30 June, and the final judgment was delivered on 7 July—just over two weeks later.
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For one of Morocco’s most prestigious cultural events…
The ruling marks a major legal turning point.
While the investigation is not entirely over, the appeal court has dismantled most of the original convictions, leaving only a reduced sentence against the foundation’s president.
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What began as a high-profile money laundering case has now been largely rewritten on appeal—reshaping one of Morocco’s biggest judicial stories of the year.
