Egypt tackles embezzlement
Egypt’s judiciary will consider a new reform to allow for amicable settlement between the government and those accused of embezzlement, bringing in recovered funds but also possibly legalizing corruption.
The Cabinet’s amendment of Law No. 62 of 1975 on Illicit Earnings, which is to be submitted to the legislative reform committee for approval, has stirred debate across Egypt. The amendment allows for amicable settlement between the government and the public figures who embezzled public funds. Some see this law as an attempt to recover the embezzled money and introduce a hard currency, which the country’s declining economy needs. Others consider the law a legalization of corruption and a loss to state authority.
Maj. Gen. Mohamed Saad, former head of the Public Funds Investigation Department, told Al-Monitor, “Article 25 is one the most important aspects of this new law, as it allows for amicable settlement. The article states that the accused, who is under the [jurisdiction of the] Illicit Gains Authority, can at any moment reach a settlement with this authority by returning the illicitly gained funds. As a result of the settlement, investigations are stopped and the penal proceedings for the accused are halted, but he is obliged to pay the expenses of the lawsuit and the judges’ fees.”
Saad noted that the new law includes several amendments, which would add new functional categories that did not exist under the Illicit Gains Authority, such as members of the judiciary and its six committees and members of the police forces. Other categories would be removed, such as members of the socialist union, which is a political popular organization founded by the late leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. The membership in this union was a prerequisite to run for parliamentary and trade union elections, and it was abolished under the era of President Hosni Mubarak, following the approval of the establishment of political parties under specific conditions.
Saad said the new law stipulated the complete independence of the Illicit Gains Authority by transferring its subordination from the executive authority, represented by the Minister of Justice, to the Supreme Judicial Council, in addition to allocating a budget for the authority to spend on cases. The law also stated the right of this authority to manage suspicious funds or companies by assigning a financial comptroller to maintain and monitor them. The comptroller would also open a special account for the profits of these funds. The previous law prevented the investment of suspicious funds until the completion of investigation. As for the new law, it allows the investment of suspicious funds, and the defendant whose innocence is proved can get back his suspicious funds and the profits resulting from the investment.
