Justice Minister Abdellatif Wahbi announced new amendments to the law regulating cheque transactions, highlighting the abolition of cheque-related crimes between spouses. He indicated that consultations are underway to set a specific amount beyond which criminal prosecution of the cheque issuer would be waived.
During a session of oral questions in the House of Representatives on Monday, Wahbi stated, “We are currently working at the General Secretariat of the Government on a bill concerning cheques, and we have one more session before presenting it to the government council for approval.” He pointed out that “the issue hindering this law relates to cash portfolios and certain personal data of citizens.”
He emphasized that “the aim of this amendment is to put an end to crimes between spouses based on cheque transactions.”
Wahbi explained that “the justification for abolishing this crime is the family ties between the parties involved in the case, namely the spouses and their children,” noting that “this will be achieved by reclassifying this crime as a civil matter with no criminal penalties.”
He further noted that “among the amendments to the cheque regulation law is that once the cheque is settled, the prosecution will be immediately terminated,” stressing that “the payment by the offender of the cheque amount will lead to their release if they are detained, and the prosecution will be dropped or the arrest warrant revoked if they are at large.”
In the case of issuing a cheque without balance, Wahbi stated that “this raised discussions regarding the new text,” adding that “it was agreed to give the concerned individual a month, during which they will be monitored electronically to allow them to resolve their issues.”
If they fail to pay the amount of the cheque, Wahbi noted that “the civil claimant has the right to grant them an additional month under the same conditions monitored electronically.”
Wahbi stressed that “the discussion today focuses on determining an amount that would prevent resorting to the arrest of the concerned individual,” mentioning that “this amount could be 20,000 or 25,000 dirhams,” highlighting that “most countries have abolished the criminal nature concerning cheque issues.”
The minister in charge of justice continued, with a tone of irony, that “in this way, it will take Morocco about 50 years (five decades) to reach a stage where cheque-related issues are no longer subject to criminal prosecution.”
He added that “we should not stifle cheque transactions, as they control the dynamics of financial and commercial dealings,” noting that “conversely, we can resort to prohibiting individuals who violate the law regulating this process after breaching the rules three times consecutively to give this citizen a chance.”
