A divorce involving Moroccans abroad living in the Netherlands has ended with a significant court ruling. The Zeeland-West-Brabant court found that the ex-husband had concealed marital assets. He must pay €803,734 to his ex-wife and hand over a Jeep.
The case concerns a couple married in 1996 at the Moroccan consulate in Germany. The husband holds both Moroccan and Dutch nationality. His ex-wife holds both Moroccan and German nationality. After several years living together in the Netherlands, their divorce led to a dispute over a number of assets held in Morocco.
Moroccans abroad divorce: an 8.5 million dirham account
At the heart of the dispute was a savings account opened with Banque Populaire in Morocco.
The ex-wife produced documents tracing the account’s transactions over several years. According to these records, the account held 8.5 million dirhams in September 2018, the equivalent of around €803,734.
The husband disputed the existence of this account. He submitted, in particular, a bank certificate stating that he only had one other account left.
The court rejected this argument. In the judges’ view, the documents produced by the ex-wife were sufficient to prove the existence of the account. The recent certificate did not make it possible to determine what had happened to the balance recorded in 2018.
Hidden assets at the centre of the divorce
The court applied Article 3:194, paragraph 2, of the Dutch Civil Code.
This provision states that a member of a marital community who deliberately conceals an asset belonging to that community may lose their share in that asset.
In this case, the court found that the husband had concealed the savings account. He therefore lost his rights to the balance in question.
The ruling therefore awards the full €803,734 to the ex-wife. The judgment specifies that the husband must pay her this amount.
Divorce in the Netherlands: Jeep awarded to the ex-wife
The same legal mechanism applied to a Jeep vehicle.
The ex-wife submitted photographs and an official document showing that the vehicle was registered in her husband’s name in Morocco. An official report drawn up in April 2026 still confirmed this registration.
The husband also denied owning the car. However, the documents he submitted failed to convince the court.
The court therefore awarded the Jeep to the ex-wife and ordered the husband to hand it over to her.
Real estate in Morocco: claim rejected
The ex-wife also asked the court to include in the marital estate a real estate complex that her husband was said to have built in Morocco.
On this point, the court did not follow her claim.
The judges noted that the husband had indeed bought two plots of land in Morocco in July 2006. However, the evidence submitted was not sufficient to establish that the real estate complex built on these plots still formed part of the marital community at the time of the proceedings.
The photographs, videos and documents produced were therefore not enough. The court rejected this part of the claim.
Cross-border divorce: which law applies to Moroccans abroad?
The judgment also provides important clarification on the applicable law.
The couple married in 1996, when both spouses held Moroccan nationality only. The court applied private international law rules to determine the matrimonial property regime.
According to the decision, Moroccan law applied to certain assets acquired before 2006. From 2006 onwards, after a sufficiently long period of habitual residence in the Netherlands, Dutch matrimonial law became applicable to the couple’s regime.
This distinction played a role in the analysis of assets acquired in Morocco.
What this case shows Moroccans abroad
This divorce involving Moroccans abroad highlights the property issues raised by cross-border proceedings.
Assets located abroad can be taken into account when assessing the marital estate, depending on the applicable law. Courts may also examine bank statements, administrative documents or property registers.
In this case, the court found that the savings account and the Jeep had been concealed. By contrast, it rejected the claim concerning the real estate complex, due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
The Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant issued its decision on 12 May 2026. The judgment also sets out the appeal options available to the parties.
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