Public Prosecution Refers 71 Defendants to the Criminal Court in the Case of Manipulation of Land Holdings and Agricultural Vouchers
The Public Prosecution announced the referral of 71 defendants, including public officials, to the Court of Cassation after it was established that they committed corruption crimes in the case of manipulating the procedures for agricultural land holdings and plots belonging to the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Public Prosecution stated that the corruption crimes involved bribery, intentional damage to public funds through the breach of official duties, forgery of official documents and their use, and complicity in such acts through agreement and assistance, as well as money laundering and illicit enrichment, along with other related crimes. These offenses were committed by manipulating procedures and documents related to the agricultural land holdings and plots of the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries.
It clarified that the value of the funds and benefits involved in the corruption facts, resulting from the trading of rights to use state-owned real estate, amounted to 8,662,296 dinars (approximately $28 million). This reveals the gravity of the misconduct in public office and the intended purpose of those rights, as well as the need to ensure their proper exploitation and preservation, in support of the public interests for which they were designated.
It added that it initiated its investigations into the case (No. 153 of 2026), classified as money laundering and registered under No. 16 of 2026 for Criminal Investigations, following information and inquiries that revealed corruption facts related to the manipulation of procedures for agricultural land holdings and plots belonging to the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries, and the resulting benefits and usage rights.
It indicated that the incidents spanned a period of time and involved 71 defendants, including public officials, some of whom held leadership and supervisory positions, as well as other public officials from various public entities. Additionally, 28 private legal entities from commercial establishments were involved, along with others whose roles were connected to the incidents, allowing them to benefit and profit from the manipulation. Consequently, authority was diverted from its intended purpose, jurisdiction was misused, and procedures originally established to protect rights became a means to infringe upon them.
It confirmed that its investigations continued until it was established that the defendants, each according to their role, committed corruption crimes consisting of bribery, intentional damage to public funds through the breach of official duties, forgery of official documents and their use, complicity in such acts through agreement and assistance, money laundering, illicit enrichment, and other related crimes, all through the manipulation of procedures and documents related to agricultural land holdings and plots.
The Prosecution reported that the case evidence was reinforced by specialized technical reports issued by the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha) and the Financial Investigations Unit. These reports included precise tracking of fund movements and their destinations, linking them to public office, illicit enrichment, and the exploitation of the aforementioned corruption crimes.
It clarified that after the completion of the investigation and the availability of evidence proving that the defendants committed the corruption crimes attributed to them, an order was issued to refer them all to the Court of Cassation for trial in accordance with the law.
