Embezzlement in Jordanian Law: Definition and Penalty

Embezzlement is among the most serious crimes in the Jordanian Penal Code, because it involves a betrayal of public office and harm to public money, or private money entrusted to the official. Dealing with these cases requires a precise understanding of two basic terms that define the scope of the crime: who is legally considered a "public official", and what the "property" is that embezzlement targets.

This guide gives a practical picture of the crime of embezzlement in the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 and its amendments, alongside the procedural role played by the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission under its Law No. 13 of 2016 and its amendments. The guide distinguishes embezzlement from similar property crimes, and explains the two paths of criminal prosecution and civil recovery.

1. The Legal Definition of Embezzlement

Embezzlement is an act committed by a public official who, with the intention of owning it, appropriates money, papers or orders belonging to the government administration or to another person, which were handed to the official because of their position or made available to them by virtue of their work. In other words, the offender converts temporary lawful possession (by virtue of work) into permanent unlawful ownership.

What distinguishes embezzlement from other property crimes is the condition of official capacity. Had the money not reached the offender by virtue of their public position, the crime of embezzlement would not be established; it would instead be, depending on the case, breach of trust, theft or fraud.

2. Who Is a "Public Official" in Jordanian Law?

The legal definition of a "public official" in the Penal Code is much broader than the common understanding. The law covers:

Employees of ministries and government departments at all grades
Employees of municipalities and municipal councils
Employees of official public institutions (customs, tax, licensing, registries…)
Judicial personnel at all levels
Military personnel of all ranks
Employees of companies wholly or partly owned by the state
Persons delegated to a public service, even temporarily
Members of municipal councils and of Parliament
Teachers in public schools
Doctors in public hospitals
Process servers, clerks, notaries and cashiers

The capacity also extends to anyone entrusted with a public task on a temporary basis, even if they were originally a private-sector employee.

3. Distinguishing Embezzlement from Similar Property Crimes

Embezzlement is often confused with breach of trust, theft and fraud. The following table shows the essential differences:

Point of comparison	Embezzlement	Breach of trust	Fraud	Theft
Capacity of the offender	A public official exclusively	Any person	Any person	Any person
How the money reached the offender	By virtue of the public position	Under a civil contract (agency, deposit, lease)	Voluntary handover based on deception	Taken without the victim's knowledge
The injured party	The public administration or the owner of the money	The party to the civil contract	The victim	The owner
Authority competent to investigate	The Integrity Commission + the Public Prosecution	The Public Prosecution	The Public Prosecution	The police + the Prosecution
Penalty	Very severe, may reach life hard labor	Graduated	Graduated	Graduated
Lapse of time	Special periods according to the gravity of the crime	General	General	General

4. The Elements of the Crime of Embezzlement

The crime rests on three elements that must all be present together:

The first element: the capacity of a public official

As explained, the offender must be a public official at the time the act is committed. If they lost that capacity before the act (retirement, resignation), embezzlement cannot be established and the incident becomes a different crime.

The second element: the material conduct, appropriation

Appropriation consists of any act that takes the money out of the public estate and into the offender's private estate:

Hiding the money at home or in a personal account
Disposing of it by sale or transfer
Using it personally
Lending from it personally

The appropriation need not be open; merely holding the money with the intention of appropriating it is considered embezzlement, even if the offender has not yet spent it.

The third element: criminal intent, the intention to appropriate

That is, the offender's knowledge that the money is not theirs, and that they hold it only in their official capacity, yet they intend to convert the possession into permanent ownership.

This intent is absent, for example, in the case of:

An official who takes money and then returns it immediately because of a passing confusion
An official who turns themselves in before the act is discovered and returns the money
Negligence or a purely accounting error without an intention to appropriate

5. Aggravating Circumstances of the Crime

The penalty is aggravated where any of the following circumstances is present:

A large value of the embezzled money: the penalty is graduated according to the amount.
Using forgery to conceal the crime: the offender is prosecuted for both embezzlement and forgery.
Embezzlement from money distributed for social or relief purposes (donations for disaster victims, zakat funds, Higher Education Bank funds), because of the harm to vulnerable groups it involves.
An official who incites another to embezzle or covers up a previous act.
Repeated embezzlement over successive periods.
Embezzlement through an organized network in which more than one official takes part.

In cases of extreme gravity, the penalty reaches life hard labor, in addition to:

Restitution and a fine of up to double the embezzled money
Removal from office for a specified period or for life
Deprivation of civil rights (voting, public employment)
Confiscation of the money derived from the crime

6. The Role of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission

The Jordanian legislature established the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission under Law No. 13 of 2016 to be the specialized body for uncovering financial and administrative corruption crimes, including embezzlement. The Commission has broad powers:

Receiving reports and complaints about corruption cases
Conducting preliminary investigations with the powers of the judicial police
Summoning officials and witnesses
Reviewing official documents and bank accounts within the limits of the law
Freezing assets where there is justified fear that they will be smuggled
Referring the file to the competent Public Prosecution to complete the proceedings

Filing a report with the Commission: Every citizen has the right to file a report, and whistleblowers enjoy legal protection as "corruption whistleblowers". A report can be submitted through:

The Commission's headquarters
The Commission's electronic portal
The hotline designated for reports

7. The Path of Criminal Prosecution

An embezzlement case begins when a report is received by the Integrity Commission, by the administrative body that discovered the shortfall, or by the Audit Bureau, which reviews the accounts. This is followed by the preliminary administrative investigation conducted within the body through an administrative investigation committee, which hears the official and prepares a detailed report on the amount of the shortfall, its date and its circumstances. This first stage, despite its apparent simplicity, is among the most sensitive stages of the file, since many of the Prosecution's later decisions are built on it.

The case then moves to investigation by the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, where investigators examine the administrative file, complete the evidence, and summon the official and the prosecution witnesses. The Commission has the power to conduct banking and real estate inquiries to uncover an official's inflated wealth within the limits of the law. Where there is sufficient evidence, the file is referred to the Public Prosecution, which decides essential matters including pretrial detention, precautionary attachment of assets, or completing a supplementary investigation. The file is then referred, depending on the gravity of the crime, to the Criminal Court of First Instance or the Major Felonies Court, and the trial is conducted in the presence of the accused and their lawyer, with the defense given full opportunity to plead, ending in a judgment subject to appeal and then cassation.

8. Civil Recovery of the Money

A conviction does not automatically return the money to the Treasury. Recovery requires additional procedures:

Precautionary attachment of the accused's assets from the start of the investigation to prevent smuggling.
A judgment for restitution and a fine as part of the criminal judgment.
Enforcement against the accused's assets after the judgment becomes final, through the Enforcement Department.
Confiscation of the money proven to be the proceeds of the crime.

Where money has been smuggled abroad, the Public Prosecutor resorts to international cooperation requests and relies on international anti-corruption agreements, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Jordan has ratified.

(For more details on cross-border judgment enforcement procedures, see the guide to the enforcement of foreign judgments.)

9. The Rights of the Accused in Embezzlement Cases

Despite the gravity of the crime, the accused retains constitutional and legal rights:

The presumption of innocence until guilt is proven by a final judgment.
The right to the assistance of a lawyer from the first interrogation.
The right to silence and not to incriminate oneself.
The right to review the case file and examine the evidence.
The right to request release on bail if there are guarantees of appearance.
The right to request a re-examination of the records and accounting figures by a neutral expert.
The right to challenge the judgment at every level.

10. Administrative Confusion That Turns into Embezzlement Files

Many embezzlement files do not arise from an explicit criminal intention, but from administrative confusion: mixing personal accounts with work accounts, carrying out improper instructions from superiors, accounting gaps that appear late, or handover procedures with incomplete documentation. The line between an administrative error and criminal liability is not clear to the non-specialist reader; it is drawn by the judge on the basis of the evidence in the file, analysis of criminal intent and the chain of events, and a file that at first glance looked like a mere accounting shortfall may turn into an embezzlement charge with all its consequences (removal from office, restitution, a fine, deprivation of civil rights).

This is precisely what makes engaging a specialist lawyer as soon as any summons is received from an administrative investigation committee or from the Integrity Commission a pivotal point. Conduct that seems natural at that stage, such as giving a reassuring oral statement, handing over documents without keeping copies, or justifying conduct by a superior's order, may enter the file and be hard to retract later. Not everyone summoned by an administrative investigation committee is an accused, but their file begins at that moment, and early legal follow-up is the difference between it being closed administratively and it turning into a criminal file.

The moment of the summons: Embezzlement files are extremely sensitive at the stage of the preliminary administrative investigation, before they are referred to the Commission. Early follow-up by a specialist lawyer determines much of the course of the file. Contact the criminal cases department at Alabwini Law Firm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an official be exempted from the penalty if they voluntarily return the money before discovery?

In some cases, the penalty is reduced if the official returns the money before the crime is discovered by the competent authorities. But this does not remove the crime entirely.

Can embezzlement be settled?

No. Settlement is not permitted in embezzlement crimes, as they affect public order. Returning the money does not end the criminal case, but it may reduce the penalty within the court's discretionary power.

What is the difference between "embezzlement" and "gross negligence" leading to the loss of money?

Negligence lacks the intention to appropriate. An official who loses a sum because of administrative negligence is held accountable disciplinarily and civilly (compensation), and may be prosecuted for a lesser crime, but is not prosecuted for embezzlement.

Can a retired official be prosecuted for embezzlement committed before their retirement?

Yes. Retirement does not end the criminal case as long as the act occurred while they were an official. The Commission and the Prosecution can still recover the money from their estate.

Is an official entitled to argue that they carried out orders as a subordinate?

Following a superior's order does not justify committing a crime. If the order is clearly contrary to the law, the official is obliged to refuse it. The order may be taken as a mitigating circumstance in setting the penalty, not as a justification for full acquittal.

What is the relationship between the Integrity Commission and the Audit Bureau?

The Audit Bureau is a financial oversight body through which shortfalls are uncovered. When any criminal suspicion is discovered, the Bureau refers the file to the Integrity Commission, which specializes in prosecution and completes the criminal proceedings.

As a citizen, am I entitled to file a report against a public official if I discover their embezzlement?

Yes. The law protects the whistleblower and punishes malicious reporting. A report is filed through the Commission or directly through the Public Prosecution.

Legal Consultation

Embezzlement cases are extremely sensitive, whether for the accused official facing severe penalties and removal from office, or for the injured body that needs to recover its money. Alabwini Law Firm provides specialist legal services in criminal cases, including embezzlement, corruption and forgery cases. For related articles: the crime of fraud, criminal forgery, and cybercrime.

The Crime of Embezzlement in Jordanian Law: Who Is a Public Official and What Is the Penalty