Establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the case of alleged agreements between oil companies

The Royal Cabinet issued a press release on Wednesday, July 29, in which it informed that His Majesty King Mohammed VI decided to set up an ad hoc committee responsible for carrying out the necessary investigations to clarify the situation on the file of alleged agreements between oil companies and to submit to His High Attention a detailed report on the subject as soon as possible.

This press release comes after the receipt of two notes from the President of the Competition Council on "possible agreements between oil companies and the Petroleum Group of Morocco".

In the first note, the president brought to the attention of His Majesty the King, the content of "the decision adopted by the plenary, on Wednesday July 22, by 12 votes for and 1 vote against", to impose a financial penalty an amount of "9% of the annual turnover achieved in Morocco" for the 3 leading distributors and a lower amount for the other companies.

On Tuesday July 28, 2020, His Majesty the King received a second note from the President on the same subject, in which the person concerned informed His Majesty the King of the "amount of the sanctions imposed" on distributors, during the plenary session on July 27. This time, the amount was set at 8% of annual turnover without distinction between companies and without any indication of the distribution of votes.

In addition, the Sovereign also received, on July 28, 2020, a file from several members of the Council in which they noted that "the management of this file was characterized by procedural transgressions and actions on the part of the president. which tarnish the quality and impartiality of the decision taken by the Council ”.

The coordination mission of this ad hoc committee, made up of the two presidents of the chambers of Parliament, the president of the Constitutional Court, the president of the Court of Auditors, the Wali Bank Al-Maghrib and the president of the Instance of probity , prevention and the fight against corruption, will be carried out by the Secretary General of the Government.

Source: Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Department of Communication, Royal Activities, "Agreement between oil companies: His Majesty the King sets up a commission to investigate the file of cartels", July 29. 2020: http://www.maroc.ma/fr/activites-royales/entente-entre-petroliers-sa-majeste-le-roi-constitue-une-commission-pour-enqueter