The revelation that a 64-year-old Arabic translator and senior counterterrorism official within the Dutch intelligence services has been potentially leaking sensitive information to Morocco is causing a political storm in the Netherlands in the latest espionage scandal involving the North African nation in Europe.
According to Dutch media reports, a counterterrorism operative known as “Abderrahim El M.” was arrested in Rotterdam this week alongside a 35-year-old policewoman and former intelligence official after long-running claims that they were supplying state secrets to Morocco.
Both suspects were involved with the Netherlands’ National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism and Security (NCTV), the country’s primary counterterrorism unit for dealing with Islamic extremism.
Sources describe “Abderrahim El M.” as a veteran interpreter and analyst for the NCTV, with espionage claims existing against him as early as 2021 but never acted upon.
He is expected to remain in custody for at least two weeks after being brought before a magistrate on Thursday morning. Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius has promised an independent investigation to clear up the matter.
Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has directly linked the fiasco to demographic change and the country’s 1.2 million Islamic community, primarily originating from Turkey and Morocco.
The emergence of the suspected spy ring could shatter previously positive intelligence cooperation between the Netherlands and Morocco, an alliance which previously led to the high-profile arrest of Moroccan-born crime boss Ridouan Taghi in 2019.
The Netherlands is currently battling a wave of narco-crime driven by foreign migrants, with Amsterdam only recently signing an extradition deal with Morocco to deal with Moroccan-born criminals.
Dutch voters head to the polls this month after the collapse of the country’s centrist government, triggered by spiralling asylum numbers and an agrarian revolt against nitrogen quotas.
This is the latest in a string of espionage cases involving Morocco in Europe. The European Parliament is still reeling from the Qatargate scandal and the discovery of an underground network of bribery by Moroccan officials, particularly advancing Rabat’s interests in Western Sahara.
Morocco in recent years has leveraged its growing international clout and expat community to flex its muscles in Europe. It has been accused of employing Israeli spyware to entrap senior Spanish officials in the aftermath of the Abrahams Accords. Rabat has also normalised relations with Tel Aviv as it continues its military campaign against rebels in Western Sahara.
Moroccan authorities have so far not commented on the arrests and espionage claims.
