Acquisition of illegal property
What is the crime of acquiring illegitimate property?
In general, education means providing and illegitimate means violating the laws of Sharia. Therefore, it can be said that the acquisition of illegitimate property is the acquisition of property through illegitimate and illegal means. This act is considered a crime under the law and carries a penalty.
Elements constituting the crime of acquiring illicit property
The crime of acquiring illicit property, like any other crime, is made up of elements. These elements are:
A) Legal element:
Article 2 of the Law on Intensifying the Punishment of Perpetrators of Bribery, Embezzlement and Fraud, approved in 1985 and amended in 1988, is the only legal element of the crime of acquiring illegitimate property, the text of which is as follows:
“Anyone may, in any way, expose or exploit the privileges granted to certain persons for special conditions, such as export and import licenses and what is traditionally called a principled agreement, or in the distribution of goods distributed, according to the rules, to commit fraud or to obtain financial or financial education in general, through which he had no legal legitimacy, is considered a criminal and in addition to rejecting the original property, is punished with three months to two years imprisonment or a fine, equivalent to twice the amount obtained will be condemned.”
Therefore, according to what was mentioned, the scope of this article consists of three criminal titles according to which the crime can be recognized and the perpetrator punished. These three titles are:
- Buying and selling points or abusing them
- Fraud in the distribution of goods that are subject to certain criteria
- Acquiring the property
B) Material element:
The material element is the external appearance of crime. In other words, what has affected the crime of acquiring illicit property constitutes the material element of the crime, which we will examine in three headings: criminal behavior, circumstances necessary to commit the crime, and the result of the crime.
1) Criminal behavior:
The criminal conduct of the crime of embezzlement includes any unlawful act that has not been specifically criminalized. For example, a person who earns money by using fraudulent maneuvers or who illegally receives money for government work will be subject to special titles of fraud, embezzlement or bribery, and it will not be the turn of illegally acquiring property.
The scope of this crime is wide, which is one of the main challenges of criminalizing this issue. For this reason, by using the word like, like and like, it pursues all actions and limits the principle of crime.
Therefore, any criminal conduct involving the intentional acquisition of another’s property through illegal means includes the criminal offense of “obtaining property through illicit means.” For example, if a person acquires another’s property due to lying for which there is no punishment in the law and is immoral and practical.
It should be noted that the exact effects of deception and fraud must be present in the acquisition of money or property. In addition, education and acquisition are the main conditions for the commission of this crime; therefore, if property or money is not obtained, the crime of “acquiring property illegally” has not been committed.
2) Conditions and circumstances of committing the crime of acquiring illegitimate property:
The legislature has committed a general criminalization by stating the phrase: “to acquire property or funds in general, the acquisition of which has had no legal legitimacy.” Thus, any intentional acquisition of other’s property through illegal means that does not guarantee criminal enforcement is subject to this crime. On the other hand, the perpetrator and the subject of the crime are also of special importance in this regard, which we will discuss in detail below:
- The perpetrator: The perpetrator can be any natural or legal person, so no special characteristics are required for the perpetrator.
- Subject of the offense: The subject of the offense may be “acquisition of property or funds”, which includes types of property including movable and immovable property, documents, stock securities, remittances, cash, and so on.
C) Psychological element:
Generally, a psychological element is involved in committing a crime, and the acquisition of illicit property is no exception to this rule. In other words, this crime is one of the intentional crimes that requires the presence of a psychological element at the time of commission. Psychological elements in this crime include two types of “general Sunnah” and “special Sunnah”:
- General intent: It means the will and intent of the perpetrator to commit a criminal act. Therefore, if a person obtains money from others by mistake, inadvertence or negligence, the crime of acquiring illicit property has not been committed.
- Special intent: It means the intent to commit a crime. In this way, the intention of the accused to acquire other people’s property and possess it can be an example of the specific malice of the accused or offender. In other words, the offender already had the intention of acquiring and acquiring “property.”
Punishment for the crime of acquiring illicit property
According to the Law on Intensifying Punishment for Perpetrators of Bribery, Embezzlement and Fraud, the punishment for perpetrators of the crime of acquiring illicit property, in addition to rejection of property, is three months to two years in prison or a fine equal to twice the amount obtained.
If you have any questions regarding the petition for the acquisition of illicit property and its rulings, or if you need guidance in enforcing a will or its provisions, our experienced counselors and attorneys at the Asia Lawyers Group will answer your questions.
