Ahmed Ezz loses appeal to unfreeze assets
In a Monday court ruling, steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz lost his appeal to unfreeze his assets as he awaits trial on corruption charges.
The North Cairo Criminal Court upheld a 2011 ruling that denied Ezz and his family access to cash, real estate and other assets until investigations are complete into the source of his weath.
Ezz, the former secretary general of ex-President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, is widely blamed for orchestrating fraud in the 2010 parliamentary elections, and has been charged with a series of financial crimes.
He was jailed on February 17, 2011 — six days after Mubarak stepped down — and eventually sentenced to a cumulative six decades in prison in a series of cases relating to the illegal acquisition of steel licenses, profiteering, money laundering and monopolistic business practices.
Ezz was released on bail in August 2014 after either successfully appealing or reaching financial settlements for most of the charges against him. He is still awaiting retrial on charges of tax evasion and squandering public funds in relation to the improper acquisition of a license to produce steel.
أخبار ذات صلة
Bad apples? Meet the majority of Egypt’s World Bank private borrowers
Over half of World Bank-financed private sector projects in Egypt have shell companies in tax havens
Court orders detention of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz for squandering public funds
Court orders detention of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz and former head of industrial development authority Amr Assal
Egyptians who aren’t in jail this week
In the midst of a string of arrests of activists, media and cultural figures, it’s gotten a little difficult to keep track of who is and is not currently detained…
Elections countdown: 20 days
Parliamentary candidates are revving up to vie for voters’ hearts on Tuesday, the first official day of campaigning in the first phase…
Your support is the only way to ensure independent, progressive journalism survives.
You have a right to access accurate information, be stimulated by innovative and nuanced reporting, and be moved by compelling storytelling. Subscribe now to become part of the growing community of members who help us maintain our editorial independence.
Join us