Senior adviser Fouad Ali El Himma, security chief Abdellatif Hammouchi, intelligence chief Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, and others are said to be the figures controlling the levers of power in Morocco in the absence of King Mohammed VI.
According to an article published by the Spanish newspaper El Independiente on Saturday, the Moroccan monarch spends most of his time in his palaces in the French capital, Paris. As a result, the affairs of the Makhzen are allegedly being handled on his behalf by a small group of state officials, most of whom are close friends of the king.
The newspaper said that Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, who is the second-richest person in Morocco after the king, is merely the public face of a shadow power structure made up of Mohammed VI’s close associates and childhood friends.
Among them is Fouad Ali El Himma, who is considered Mohammed VI’s unofficial deputy because he allegedly “controls everything” in the kingdom. He is also described as the architect of agreements concluded by Rabat “behind the scenes with American and Israeli elites.”
Abdellatif Hammouchi, meanwhile, is reportedly another figure who “cannot be touched.” French judicial authorities previously accused him of overseeing the torture of Franco-Moroccan citizen Zakaria Moumni, but he escaped prosecution after invoking diplomatic immunity.
Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, head of Morocco’s counterintelligence service, is also described as one of the figures implicated in the Moroccan corruption scandal involving the European Parliament. According to the newspaper, this influential official succeeded in recruiting “European Parliament member Panzeri as an agent for Morocco until 2019.”
Alongside these figures, El Independiente mentioned Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, who has increasingly gained the king’s confidence despite not belonging to the royal establishment.
The newspaper also referred to Moroccan businessman Mohamed Mounir Majidi, who was appointed Mohammed VI’s private secretary in 2000. Since then, he has reportedly played a central role in managing the royal wealth.
The influence of the Zaïter brothers is also reportedly growing in Morocco as close associates of King Mohammed VI. The Zaïters are four Moroccan brothers who grew up in Germany and became known for boxing and martial arts before their names became associated with the Moroccan monarch in 2018.
As for Hassan, Mohammed VI’s son from his former wife Salma Bennani, El Independiente claims that he does not enjoy the full status of heir to the throne.
Al Sharq Newspaper
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