The death of the former director of the Public Institute for Social Security Fahd Al-Rajaan in London yesterday raised questions marks about the fate of the cases pending against him related to public money.
Informed sources told a local Arabic daily, the penal cases will be dropped, but civil lawsuits continue to be pursued with the heirs, although the matter may be delayed due to the administrative procedures related to the heirs,” referring to a previous ruling by the Court of Cassation.
The sources pointed to Article 22 of Law No. 1 of 1993 regarding the protection of public funds, which states that “the expiry of the criminal case for any reason does not preclude the right of the injured party to demand the refund of the funds, the subject of the crimes stipulated in this law, and compensation if necessary.
Dr. Faisal Al-Haidar, a specialist in administrative and financial law, said, “The financial right of the state with one of its citizens does not become invalid with the death of this citizen, as it can continue to claim this right through a new lawsuit that addresses the heirs of the deceased, after verifying their names, addresses and the relationship of kinship to the deceased issued against him.”
Al-Haidar indicated that “the Fatwa and Legislation Department can appeal the claim to recover these funds owed to the state.”