At least 50 Moroccan companies and hundreds of their workers have not been compensated for at least US$5 million worth of renovation and maintenance work at a palace in Tangier owned by a Saudi prince, Human Rights Watch said today.
Moroccan company representatives said that their efforts to get compensation have been futile despite repeated assurances by Saudi companies and palace representatives that they will provide payment. It remains unclear which entities or companies are responsible for nonpayment.
"It is unconscionable for Saudi companies overseeing a luxury palace project to drive Moroccan businesses and their workers to the verge of economic ruin," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The complete disregard for the rights of hundreds of workers to be paid for their work, including through unfair contracting practices, should be urgently rectified."
In 2023, the office of Saudi Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, minister of state, member of the Council of Ministers, and a relative of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, contracted two Saudi companies, Modern Building Leaders (MBL) and Innovative Facility Management and Services (IFAS). They were to renovate and repair a palace owned by the prince in Tangier.
Based on documents and interviews with representatives of affected Moroccan businesses, the Saudi companies contracted work to at least 50 Moroccan subcontractors but allegedly stopped paying for labor, materials, and service since October 2024 that amounted to at least $5 million. Human Rights Watch could not independently verify these figures. Saudi companies made several partial payments to some subcontractors in January, April, and May, based on interviews and documents Human Rights Watch reviewed.
As a result, at least 11 Moroccan companies say that they are facing bankruptcy, and that hundreds of workers have lost their livelihoods. Saudi and Moroccan authorities should work together to ensure that any outstanding dues are paid in full, Human Rights Watch said.
In November and December, Human Rights Watch interviewed four representatives of the affected Moroccan subcontractors, three affected workers, and another informed source. Human Rights Watch wrote to the Office of Prince Turki and the Saudi contractors on December 10 but has not received responses. Representatives and workers interviewed wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation.
Human Rights Watch reviewed email correspondence between the Moroccan subcontractors and Moroccan authorities, MBL, IFAS, and the Office of Prince Turki, letters that subcontractors sent to the Saudi Embassy in Morocco and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, media reports, and a written record of a meeting between the representatives of Moroccan subcontractors, MBL, IFAS, and the Office of Prince Turki detailing the claims on unpaid dues.
People interviewed said that the last time the Saudi companies paid their Moroccan subcontractors in full was in October 2024. This was followed by partial payments to some subcontractors, including in January, April, and May 2025. Four subcontractors are owed up to $75,000, three between $75,000 and $150,000, and four more than $150,000.
"Each company's capital [share capital] is barely 1 million Moroccan dirhams [$107,900]," a subcontractor said. "Even if they paid us now, it will not fix all the damages that have been done to our businesses and our lives."
Those interviewed said that subcontractors have been unable to pay off or retain hundreds of employees, and that they face burgeoning loans and mental stress. Based on interviews, four of the contractors have had to lay off a total of at least 113 workers.
"I was laid off because there is no money," said a worker who worked in the palace for a year. "I borrowed money from friends to pay rent, but it is causing problems because I cannot pay it back." An employee who is owed four months' salary said: "We have responsibilities and families and need the money.... How will I feed my family? How will I buy food?" A subcontractor representative who laid off over two dozen staff in 2025 said he has used up all his savings and sold assets like his car and shop to pay off his suppliers and workers. "In one or two months I will declare bankruptcy," he said in November.
Another subcontractor representative said: "Many affected companies such as mine gave guaranteed checks to [their] suppliers that cannot be cashed, and the company managers were taken to the police because of that [for summoning due to checks that did not have sufficient funds to be paid out]."
Moroccan subcontractors have also peacefully protested and conducted sit-ins in front of the palace and IFAS offices in Tangier, including in November, based on mediareports and interviews. It remains unclear which entity is responsible for the non-payment, which has left Moroccan subcontractors in limbo. According to subcontractors, palace representatives claim that they have fully paid MBL and IFAS. However, subcontractors said that MBL and IFAS representatives claim they have not been paid, as indicated in written correspondence to the Office of Prince Turki. Human Rights Watch has sought clarification from the prince's office, IFAS and MBL but did not receive a response.
In notes Human Rights Watch reviewed from an April 9 meeting between representatives of IFAS, MBL, Prince Turki's office and Moroccan subcontractors, IFAS had committed to pay all remaining dues by April 30, including "all the companies in the groups" and "with no need for further negotiations."
Human Rights Watch also reviewed letters received by the affected Moroccan subcontractors on June 27, from IFAS representatives assuring them that they were "working on securing the rest of the contractor's dues for phase one of the project. The payments or parts of it will commence within three weeks of the date of this email." Moroccan subcontractors said that those payments were never made.
Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies have a responsibility to avoid causing or contributing to human rights violations. Companies should address unfair business practices that contribute to rights violations, including delayed contractual payments or nonpayments that fuel labor abuses and adopt fair contracting practices with business partners, including timely payment that will ensure the rights of workers.
Companies should remediate any human rights impact that they have caused or contributed to. Saudi companies' failure to pay Moroccan subcontractors is causing immediate harm to workers' rights to fair remuneration and an adequate standard of living, interviews showed.
A senior employee of a subcontractor said, "I was paid for four months but not for the remaining six months.... What do I do? Give the workers [I supervise] their salary or take my dues or pay the suppliers?" He said he had to move out of his home. "I had to borrow money from my family members so I can live and take care of my family... I still have not been able to pay it back."
Human Rights Watch research in Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, has found that workers employed in companies at lower levels of subcontracting chains are vulnerable to abuses such as wage theft. Human Rights Watch also has documented for years a range of companies in Saudi Arabia individual and group cases of alleged wage abuses by Saudi companies.
"Hundreds of workers in Morocco and their families are in financial distress because they aren't being paid what they are owed," Page said.
