President Luis Abinader today warned public officials and servants that if they violate Law 340-22 on Domain Forfeiture, they will incur civil and criminal liability and could be sanctioned with up to 400 minimum wages and lifelong disqualification from exercising public functions. .
When enacting the bill recently approved by Congress, he said that the Dominican State has the tools, laws and independence of the Public Ministry, to make a better country.
“I also want to warn that public officials and servants who violate the provisions of the Domain Forfeiture Law, including those relating to the administration and disposal of assets subject to this procedure, will incur civil liability, fines of up to 400 salaries minimum of the public sector and criminal sanctions of up to five years in prison, as well as in his disqualification from the exercise of public functions, “he said.
“No one can tarnish the good name of our country, nor can it be impugned. We are going to recover what is ours with determination and justice, “said the president.
Abinader recalled that since he was sworn in as President of the Republic, he took an oath to fight against impunity and fight corruption.
He warned that whoever has committed a crime, has profited and subtracted a single peso from the State, now, and with the force of the law, that money must return to the State.
«In this country, whoever does it pays, and whoever steals will return what was stolen. It’s that simple and that forceful,” said the President.
He explained that this law, which is beginning to be developed today, implies, among other things, restorative justice: “A new concept in our legal system, because not only is it sanctioned, but the damage caused is restored.”
In this sense, he reiterated that the extinction of domain is a legal institute directed against the illicit acquisition or destination of public goods.
The head of state also highlighted that said law is an instrument that seeks to complement the set of institutional and legal measures “that we are adapting in all areas and from day one.”
He expressed satisfaction because after so much time, finally, the extinction of domain, already as a law, is a reality promoted by the Government and the National Congress.
You may be interested in reading: LIVE: Abinader presides over act of enactment of Domain Extinction Law
“The wishes of the Dominican people and their claims have been addressed and are reflected in this law, which is much more than a norm. It is the firmest commitment to make this country a fairer, more dignified nation, a State of law,” he said. Abinader.
He argued that the approval of the Domain Forfeiture reaffirms the Government’s commitment in its struggle for transparency and institutionality of the Dominican State.
As well as for the strengthening of the justice system. “And it is, above all, a conquest of the Dominican people, who remained attentive to the course of this initiative in the legislative chambers.”
“It only remains that this citizen vigil is maintained at the moment in which this law is applied for the recovery, for the benefit of all, of the wealth illicitly obtained by a few,” the president specified.
“We needed this law and we all knew it,” said Abinader, who also argued that the change that they introduce today to the legal system widens the margins of the country. “It places it as an advanced democracy that persecutes, that sanctions, and that recovers and restores,” he said.
He specified that the country had been waiting for this law for more than 12 years and that on Tuesday the Legislative Power approved it and “today I have signed its approval for its development and implementation.”
“All of us are subject to the same rules and the same duties as public servants,” said the president.
He said that today, they add one more step to the new Republic that they are building, “what until now was in the pockets of a few in an illegal way, will return to the pockets of its legitimate owners, the Dominican people.”
He stated that due to its nature and scope, Law 340-22 on Domain Forfeiture constitutes a novel mechanism and an effective response against organized corruption, drug trafficking and other crimes, since it focuses exclusively on persecution.
He said that the corrupt always seek to profit, and now they will attack that problem from the root.
“Dominican men and women know that we are honest and hard-working people, that we have earned everything with the effort of our work and the sweat of our brows,” said Abinader.
