Hidden apartment in Morocco: an MRE must repay 162,324 euros
A Dutch woman of Moroccan origin must repay nearly eleven years of social assistance. Her apartment in Nador was registered in her sister’s name, then in her daughter’s, but the courts consider her the true owner of the property.
She had been receiving social assistance in the Netherlands since December 2013. In May 2024, a report alleging that she owned a house in Morocco prompted the municipality of ’s-Hertogenbosch to examine her financial situation.
On Bladi.net : MRE in the Netherlands: Hidden Property in Morocco Could Trigger Benefit Repayment
Investigators first discovered a Moroccan bank account opened in July 2013, several months before her benefits began. The beneficiary had never declared it. She explained that it was used solely to pay for insurance intended to finance her repatriation to Morocco after her death.
But the investigation also revealed an apartment located in Nador. According to the Oost-Brabant District Court ruling, reports by the Moroccan police indicate that the woman had stated that she herself bought the property in 2017 and paid for the renovation work. The money reportedly passed in particular through her Moroccan account.
The apartment passes from the sister to the daughter
The property was nevertheless registered in her sister’s name. The beneficiary challenged the Moroccan documents, claiming that they came from relatives with whom she was in conflict.
This defense did not convince the judges. The statements came not only from her family, but also from the woman herself and a representative of the seller. The stamps in her passport also confirmed her presence in Morocco when she had filed her complaint with the Nador police.
Proceedings initiated in Morocco should then have made it possible to register the apartment in her name. The property was ultimately registered in her daughter’s name. For the Dutch municipality, this change did not erase the fact that she had financed the purchase and the work and remained the economic owner of the property.
The woman also failed to provide the statements from her Moroccan account covering the period from July 2013 to January 2019. This period was nevertheless essential, since it included the presumed purchase of the apartment.
In the absence of complete documents, the municipality could not determine the money she actually had, the origin of the sums used in Nador, or the value of her assets. The court therefore confirmed that it was impossible to calculate her actual entitlement to benefits.
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Her social assistance was withdrawn retroactively. She must now repay 162,324.21 euros received between December 2013 and September 2024. The judges rejected her appeal, while reminding her that the rules protecting a minimum income will continue to apply during the recovery process.