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After several years of legal uncertainty, the Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) Group has closed one of the most sensitive chapters in its European operations. On Monday, the French-speaking Court of First Instance in Brussels approved a settlement between BCP, its subsidiary Banque Chaabi du Maroc (BCDM), and Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office, bringing an investigation launched in 2018 to a definitive close.
Under the agreement, the two institutions will pay €174.5 million (nearly 1.9 billion dirhams). In return, all legal proceedings will be dropped. According to the court ruling, the settlement does not constitute an admission of criminal liability.
The case stems from Banque Chaabi’s long-standing activities in Belgium. For decades, the bank occupied a unique position within the Moroccan diaspora, offering banking and support services to a community that had long been underserved by traditional financial institutions. However, practices inherited from an earlier regulatory environment came under increasing scrutiny as Belgian authorities tightened financial compliance requirements.
A source close to the case said that «the group’s priority was to bring an end to a lengthy and costly procedure while avoiding the uncertainties of litigation that could have lasted several more years». The same source stressed that the banks concerned cooperated fully with judicial, regulatory and market authorities throughout the investigation.
Beyond the financial cost, the issue was largely one of reputation. In recent years, European regulators have intensified scrutiny of financial institutions serving diaspora communities, particularly regarding anti-money-laundering controls and governance standards. In this context, banks often opt for negotiated settlements to eliminate long-term legal risks.
BCP maintains that the agreement will have no impact on its financial strength. The group says its prudential ratios remain fully compliant with regulatory requirements and that it will continue pursuing its development strategy in both Morocco and international markets.
For the Moroccan banking group, the approval of the settlement marks the end of a legal episode that had weighed on its European operations for seven years. It also allows BCP to refocus on its strategic priorities, namely growth, digital transformation and the strengthening of compliance frameworks, which have become essential across the global banking industry.
