But it was all a fantasy — more than 600 million dirhams (about $65 million) allegedly disappeared, leaving more than 1,000 buyers out-of-pocket, according to one of the lawyers representing them. But the vast scam has prompted major questions about alleged negligence and complicity of some Moroccan institutions. Mohamed el Ouardi, as head of the Bab Darna group, allegedly received advances for apartments that never made it beyond the paper they were drawn on. The money was allegedly embezzled by cashing “advances ranging from 20 percent” to the full cost of the apartment, he added. Such practices did not prevent Bab Darna from exhibiting with great fanfare at real-estate shows in Casablanca, Paris and Brussels.

Source: Manila Times April 02, 2020 16:18 UTC