Business criminal law is where money meets punishment: fraud, breach of trust, forgery, bounced cheques, company-law offences, money laundering, customs disputes. Since 2000, Leghlimi Law Firm in Casablanca has defended directors, companies and investors facing prosecution, and represented victims who lost their money in a fraudulent scheme and want it back, not merely a conviction.
The offences the firm handles
Fraud and breach of trust
Deceit in commercial and real-estate transactions, fictitious investments, false financial placements, misappropriation of funds entrusted under a mandate, a deposit or a partnership. The Penal Code punishes fraud (Article 540) and breach of trust (Article 547), and the line between these offences and an ordinary commercial dispute is where the defence or the prosecution is built.
Forgery and use of forged documents
Falsification of contracts, commercial documents, powers of attorney and certificates, and their use in transactions. (Articles 351 to 367 of the Penal Code) This is where criminal law meets real estate, and the firm devotes a separate page to property spoliation.
Bounced cheques and negotiable instruments
Issuing a cheque without funds or with insufficient funds, and improper stop-payment orders, under the Commercial Code (Law 15-95, Articles 316 et seq.). The firm defends the drawer under prosecution and assists the holder with the complaint, the action for payment and the attachment.
Company-law offences and directors’ criminal liability
Misuse of company assets or credit, presentation of inaccurate accounts, distribution of fictitious dividends, obstruction of the statutory auditor, and the offences provided for by Law 17-95 on public limited companies (Articles 384 et seq.) and Law 5-96 on limited liability companies and other companies (Articles 107 et seq.). Also disputes between partners that take a criminal turn.
Money laundering and corruption
Prosecutions for money laundering (Articles 574-1 to 574-7 of the Penal Code, Law 43-05), bribery and influence peddling, before the financial-crime sections of the courts of appeal.
Customs disputes
Smuggling, false customs declarations, confiscation and the protection of bona fide third parties, settlement with the customs administration. Read the firm’s study on confiscation under customs law.
Cybercrime and online fraud
Internet fraud, identity theft, unlawful access to company information systems, under the provisions on offences against automated data-processing systems.
If you are being prosecuted
- Make no statement without a lawyer. The right to contact a lawyer is guaranteed from the moment of police custody.
- Do not sign a statement, a confession or a waiver you have not read in full and understood.
- Gather the documents that establish your good faith: contracts, correspondence, bank transfers, invoices.
- Contact the firm immediately: the first hours decide the course of the case, in particular the decision on police custody or pre-trial detention.
If you are a victim
- Keep every trace: messages, cheques, proof of transfers, written promises.
- Apply for an attachment of the suspect’s assets before or alongside the complaint, so that the award of damages does not remain a dead letter.
- Join the proceedings as a civil party from the outset to follow the file and obtain compensation in the criminal judgment itself.
How the firm works
- Precise legal characterisation of the facts: is this really an offence, or a commercial or civil dispute dressed up as a criminal complaint to apply pressure? Many complaints fall at this question.
- Presence from the preliminary investigation before the judicial police, the prosecutor and the investigating judge.
- Defending liberty: challenging pre-trial detention, applications for release, bail.
- The accounting and financial file: working with chartered accountants to dismantle the accusation or establish it figure by figure.
- Advocacy before the correctional and criminal chambers, the financial-crime sections and the Court of Cassation.
- Compensation and enforcement: civil action, attachments and recovery of the sums awarded.
Why the firm
- Twenty-five years of criminal practice, including complex financial cases followed by the national and international press.
- Combined expertise in criminal, real-estate and commercial law, essential in business cases that ignore the boundaries between fields.
- Regular analysis of criminal-law developments in Moroccan and international media.
- Absolute confidentiality: the name of the accused or the victim does not leave the firm.
Frequently asked questions
I have been summoned by the judicial police over a fraud complaint. Should I bring a lawyer?
Yes, from the very first minute. A suspect has the right to contact a lawyer from the moment of police custody, and what is said in the first statement stays on the file to the end. Do not sign a statement you have not read in full and do not hand over documents before consulting the lawyer.
I received a bounced cheque. What is the fastest way to recover the money?
Two routes run in parallel: a criminal complaint for issuing a cheque without funds under the Commercial Code, and an action for payment before the commercial court with an attachment of the debtor's assets. The firm assesses which is more effective given the debtor's situation, and usually combines both.
What is the difference between fraud, breach of trust and an ordinary commercial dispute?
A commercial dispute is a breach of contract; fraud requires deceitful means that induced the victim to hand something over; breach of trust requires a lawful handover followed by misappropriation. The correct characterisation determines the court, the sentence and the chances of recovering the money, and it is the first thing the firm checks.
Is a company director criminally liable for the company's acts?
Yes, in specific cases: using company assets or credit for personal purposes, presenting inaccurate accounts, distributing fictitious dividends, and the other offences set out in Law 17-95 on public limited companies and Law 5-96 for other companies. The defence starts with a review of the accounting records and the minutes of general meetings.
I am the victim of a large financial fraud. How do I make sure I recover my money and not just obtain a conviction?
By joining the criminal proceedings as a civil party and applying for an attachment of the suspect's assets at the earliest stage, before they are hidden. A conviction without a prior attachment too often ends in an unenforced award of damages, which is why the firm works on both fronts from day one.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every matter has its own facts and calls for its own assessment.
