Senate okays amendments to Illicit Gains Law

AMMAN — The Senate on Sunday approved the amended Illicit Gains Law and an appendix to the General Budget Law, as referred by the Lower House.

In a session headed by Senate President Faisal Fayez and attended by Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh and Cabinet members, senators ratified the Lower House’s resolution approving the draft anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism law, as amended by the Senate, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Since the beginning of the extraordinary session in August, the Lower and Upper Houses have approved five out of 11 bills on the agenda.

Both houses made amendments to the Companies Law, the Greater Amman Municipality Law, the draft anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism law and an appendix to the General Budget Law.

The Lower House expects to complete the discussion of three bills listed on the upcoming Monday session agenda, which will cover the municipalities and decentralisation draft law, the development of lands adjacent to the Baptism Site, and narcotics and psychotropic substances.

Three draft laws on integrity, anti-corruption, labour and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone are under discussion by the relevant parliamentary committees. 

The amendments to the Illicit Gains Law aim to prosecute perpetrators of corruption in line with the UN Convention against Corruption ratified by Jordan. It also defines illegal gains and any abnormal growth of wealth or assets of any public official.  

The senators agreed with the deputies’ decision regarding a bill attached to the General Budget Law for the fiscal year 2021, which covers the costs of pandemic stimulus measures announced by the government last March.

The measures were granted by the US with a total value of JD263 million, of which JD78.5 million are current expenses and JD184.5 million are capital expenditures.