New Opportunity for Moroccans to Declare Foreign Assets

Wednesday 03 January 2024 - 13:35

The Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office has introduced a year-long window for residents to disclose their previously unreported assets held abroad. The "Spontaneous Regularization Operation 2024” enables individuals and companies to anonymously step forward, paying a fixed penalty fee to legitimize their overseas accounts and assets.

Authorized under Morocco's 2023 Finance Law 55.23, the amnesty program began on January 1st and will continue until December 31st, 2024. It provides permanent Moroccan residents and entities with an opportunity to rectify any undeclared foreign holdings established before January 1, 2023, without the threat of criminal prosecution or steep fines typically imposed for violating strict currency exchange controls.

As per guidelines published by the Foreign Exchange Office, declarants can approach any bank confidentially to submit anonymized disclosure reports detailing their offshore assets. Regulators have developed a standard template that categorizes funds by type, simplifying the reporting process. By law, penalty rates are capped at moderate, fixed levels based on the nature and amounts declared.

The initiation of this time-limited amnesty initiative presents an opportunity for discreet repatriation of overseas assets that may have slipped through reporting cracks over the years. With the Foreign Exchange Office ensuring confidentiality and moderate penalties for those coming forward, numerous Moroccan individuals and companies may want to carefully consider this chance to voluntarily fulfill their foreign asset reporting obligations before the December 2024 deadline.