Asset Recovery (Legislation)

Jordan commit to strengthen their asset recovery legislation, including through non-conviction based confiscation powers and the introduction of unexplained wealth orders.

Status: Ongoing
This commitment has no defined end date and there is evidence that activity has started

  • Ministry of Justice.
  • Judiciary
  • Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission

The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law and its Amendments

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption Implementation Review Mechanism

Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. 46 of 2007 and its amendments

Draft Law of 2008 Law on Collection of Public Funds

Law Amending State Funds Maintenance Law

Integrity and anti-corruption law No (13) Year (2016)

Illicit Financing law No (21) Year 2014

 

October 2020
The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission is the agency responsible to implement this commitment, based on the Article (8) of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law No. (13) for the year (2016) and that if there is an evidence that there is unexplained wealth order for those who are under the law of illicit gain, the commission council has the right to request all data and documents from the financial disclosure department.
May 2020
– The Jordanian legal framework has the needed base to develop and amend to complete the implementation of this commitment where, The Anti-Money Laundering and counter terrorist Financing Law allows the crime of money laundering to be considered prohibited. Article (23) of the same law includes a provision regarding the implementation of external requests to confiscate the proceeds of money laundering crimes, which can be a civil court ruling and not a criminal in its origin. – The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law, includes the authority of the commission to contribute to the recovery of money from corruption acts (Article 8). In addition to seizing and prohibiting disposal (freezing), these are precautionary measures that allow the result to be confiscated by judicial decision. – The Law on Collection of Public Funds and its Amendments: This law was originally issued to collect the money due from the receivables of taxpayers such as fees and taxes, but it can be developed and used in the framework of confiscation and recovery of funds without the need for a conviction judgment. – Law of Maintenance of State Funds No. (20) of 1966 and its amendments: Where a court is established under this law called the State Funds Maintenance Court, and it is within its competence to seize, retrieve and confiscate the money acquired by people in a manner that violates the law. – The state can also exercise its right through civil lawsuit and civil legislation in order to recover the money and its revenues through the provisions of the general rules in the civil law. – Economic Crimes Law No. (9) Of 1993 and its amendment. – Illicit financing law No (21) Of 2014 and its amendments. – The 2020 amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act represent an effort by the government to strengthen the asset recovery legislation.

  1. 1.Activating legal texts (currently available) through which confiscation can be achieved without the need for criminal conviction, and this requires some of the agencies listed below to cooperate to develop a procedural guide that explains the mechanisms and means of confiscation available in order to assist those authorities in carrying out confiscation not based on a criminal ruling each according to Its specialty is:
    -Judiciary / Public Prosecution.
    -Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission.
    -Money Laundering Unit.
    -Ministry of Justice.
    -Ministry of Finance.
    -Ministry of Interior.
    1. Developing legislation to allow for confiscation not based on a criminal judgment, whenever the reasons for the criminal case are not possible, by authorizing the confiscation of funds arising from corruption crimes or original crimes of money laundering crimes so that as a preliminary procedure, freezing or seizing the funds if they are transferred is sufficient for possession only and preventing Disposal with it, if it is immovable, shall be applied to the disposition with which it is required by law, such as registration and documentation, such as lands, vehicles, and others.
    3.The confiscation permit, if the person is unable to prove the legality of the source of that money without a court ruling, and others with good faith have the right to resort to the judiciary.
    1. Amending the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law of 2016 to allow the Commission’s Board to make reconciliations and settlements to recover money resulting from a corruption crime and with the approval of the Judicial Committee stipulated in the applicable Economic Crime Law and it is the same authority established for the Attorney General in the said law.