Concept in Definition ABC

Embezzlement is a term that comes from the Latin peculatus and means theft of public money. It is a word commonly used in Latin America but not in Spain. In the criminal codes of countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Argentina or Venezuela the crime of embezzlement is spoken of, while in Spain another name is used, embezzlement of public funds.

The crime of embezzlement

It is a fraudulent offense, that is, an action of which the offender has full conscience of having committed it. It consists of appropriating money within the framework of the Public administration.

In legal terms, the crime of embezzlement must be located in the sphere of right penal. It consists of the misappropriation or diversion of public funds by a state official, a public servant, a position of confidence of the administration or an elected office. In other words, the crime affects all those who have a relationship with the state and who, taking advantage of their privileged situation, seek their own benefit. In this sense, it is considered to be a form of abuse of public power in order to obtain private benefit.

In relation to the crime of embezzlement, the legal asset that is intended to be protected is the public function as a whole, that is, all the norms or entities related to the state.

Other crimes against the Public Administration

In the majority of laws, a series of figures crimes that are related to the public function and the Administration. Among the best known we can mention the crime of prevarication, that of revealing official secrets, that of influence peddling or that of bribery.

Embezzled and peculiar

These two words share the same etymological origin but have different meanings. As we have already seen, embezzlement is a crime against the administration. The term peculiar has several meanings:

1) is the amount of money that was formerly left to a son or a servant so that he could use it,

2) is the money of each one (for example, "I paid it out of my pocket"),

3) in the Roman law the term peculiar was used to refer to the heritage that a father gave up a son,

4) in prison jargon is the money used by prisoners in prisons (instead of money a system of cards or cards is usually used).

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