Embezzlement is a term that comes from the Latin and means theft of public money. It is a word in common use in Brazil, being embezzled throughout Latin America. In penal codes the term offense of embezzlement is used.
the offense of embezzlement
It is a willful infraction, that is, an action of which the offender is fully aware of having committed. It consists of appropriating money that belongs to the Public Administration .
In legal terms, the offense of embezzlement must fall within the scope of criminal law . It consists of the misappropriation or misappropriation of public funds by a state official , a public servant, someone with a position of trust or an elected office. In other words, this crime affects all those who have a relationship with the State and take advantage of their privileged position to obtain their own benefit. In this sense, it is considered 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 norms or entities related to the state.
Other crimes against the Public Administration
In most legislation, a series of criminal figures can be observed that are related to the public service and the Administration. Among the best known we can highlight the crime of malfeasance, disclosure of official secrets, influence peddling or bribery.
Embezzlement and annuity
These two words share the same etymological origin but have different meanings. As seen previously, embezzlement is a crime against the administration, the term embezzlement has several meanings:
1) A sum of money that was previously left to a child or for an employee to use;
2) It is each one’s money as if it were an inheritance or a savings account;
3) In Roman law it was used to refer to the patrimony that a father hands over to a son;
4) It is prison slang to describe the money used by prisoners (in place of money they usually use cards or cardboards).
