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«The EU intends to order 10 billion masks in Morocco in the coming days like other countries». The statement, as surreal as it may sound, is attributed to one Alain Polomack. On his Facebook page, this Strasbourg-based man in his sixties announced that «the first shipment of 25,000 Moroccan masks arrived in New York today with 450 Moroccan-made respirators on a plane chartered by UPS from Casablanca».
He added that «Morocco will deliver several times a week to New York and other American cities in anticipation of 10 million [masks] per week». «King Mohammed VI's Morocco has become the world's second largest producer of masks after China. Long live King Mohammed VI», he concluded in his statement shared more than 1,000 times in only a few hours and relayed by some Moroccan media.
Million and billion lies
Alain Polomack mentioned millions and billions but without being able to provide any evidence and proof to back his statements. The details provided may suggest that the CEO of Hesiode Paris is well-informed, but the truth is he is not. Morocco does not have the capacity of producing tens of billions of masks and even less so export it to Europe.
Today, the Kingdom produces 7 million masks per day, of which only a small part is exported, which is already a quite remarkable figure compared to several European countries. However, this does not make Morocco the second biggest world producer behind China.
As for the delivery of masks to the United States, the volume indicated could have been plausible. But the supposed 450 artificial respirators data completely discredits the claim. Indeed, Moulay Hafid Elalamy spoke of an upcoming production of 500 artificial respirators, but they have still not left the factory. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has confirmed to Yabiladi, that they are still undergoing a testing phase.
«This prototype is in its third version, which integrates more complex functionalities, with the supervision of a professor specialized in resuscitation at the University Hospital of Rabat, an expert within the Covid-19 cell. Tests are underway, in parallel with production».
Ministry of Trade and Industry
It would then be difficult, under these circumstances, to export to the United States respirators which have still not been validated according to Moroccan standards.
Alain the trickster
Alain Polomack is far from being an unknown figure in France. In 2008, he was sentenced to one month in prison by the Bordeaux criminal court after posing as «technical advisor» to Nicolas Sarkozy, then-French president.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Strasbourg-native had «claimed to have an MBA in international business from the University of San Diego in California» and «had produced a forged employment contract signed by the President».
He had even told the court of the way he made contacts all over the powerful circles, from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Bordeaux to the regional prefecture, and left an unpaid 2,025 euro-bill in the luxury hotel where he once resided. In short, the man posed as a fake «‘European civil servant’, with a neat suit, but without a credit card», and was eventually caught by the French police.
Ten years later, stroke again in Tunisia. According to the Tunisian portal Web Manager Center, Alain Polomack had introduced himself as a businessman who wanted to invest in Tunisia, in 2018, and would have «stayed in a prestigious hotel in the capital», enjoying «the services of a travel agency in Tunis, which he had to pay», but failed to.
«According to these witnesses, the man did not pay, the agency had to file a lawsuit against him», said the Tunisian media about this «former convict», who had predicted a bleak prospect for Tunisia. He «left without a trace» after being «accused of a scam» in the North African country.
