Cairo court refers trial of Mubarak-era multi-billionaire, Hussein Salem, to appeals court without issuing a verdict

In a surprise move, Cairo Criminal Court due to issue its verdict on the freezing of the assets of multibillionaire Hussein Salem, to the Cairo Appeals Court without issuing its own verdict on Wednesday.

Salem, a tycoon of the natural gas and real estate industries, who was a close associate of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, has been residing in Spain since fleeing Egypt during the popular uprising of 2011.

Salem’s lawyers reached a deal in August 2016 to settle his financial differences with state authorities, through an out-of-court settlement. According to this settlement, Salem and his lawyers had agreed to handover 75 percent of his total wealth to the Egyptian state.

The lawyers resorted to the Cairo Criminal Court in light of the state’s decision to press ahead with the freezing of Salem’s assets and to confiscate his properties, despite the agreement to settle his financial differences out of court.

However, the court did not issue its verdict as scheduled. Instead its chief justice referred the case to a higher level court, without providing any explanation.

One of Salem’s lawyer, Mahmoud Kebeish, told Mada Masr, “The court doesn’t have to explain its decision. It is not obliged to explain the reasoning behind its referral of this case to another court or circuit.”

“The court doesn’t appear to want to issue its legal reasoning in this case. This is a decision at the court’s discretion,” he added, clarifying that he did not know which circuit of the Cairo Appeals Court this case was referred to, nor when the appeal would be heard.

The lawyers asserted that the case “should not have been referred to the Cairo Criminal Court in the first place, as we had agreed to turn over 75 percent of Salem’s wealth.”

The real extent of Salem’s total assets is not known, yet as part of his agreement with the state’s Illicit Gains Authority to turn over three quarters of his wealth, the business magnate agreed to hand over LE5.8 billion.

Kebeish downplayed Salem’s total wealth, claiming that it all amounts to around LE7 billion," and that he has already handed over nearly LE5.5 billion.

A Mada Masr investigation revealed, however, that the deal significantly underestimated the total wealth and assets of the Salem family, which may be as high as LE24 billion. As Kebeish pointed out, Salem’s assets and properties are based both “here in Egypt and abroad.”

In light of the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak and his regime, Salem was charged and found guilty of corruption, profiteering, money laundering, and squandering public funds. The case was linked to mass exports of Egyptian natural gas to Israel and other states at rates far below the market prices, among other corrupt business practices.

Following Salem’s financial settlement with the state, ruling authorities agreed to drop the charges and lengthy prison sentences issued against him and his children in absentia.

Salem is one of Egypt’s wealthiest businessmen, part of Mubarak’s inner circle, and one of many high profile political figures who fled the country during the mass revolt against their rule, many of whom have been since been convicted of corruption and abuse of power (with some like Salem, being sentenced in absentia.)

Other similarly wealthy businessmen who have struck reconciliation deals with the ruling authorities include the chief of Mubarak’s once-ruling party, Safwat al-Sherif, and the former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, in exchange for the dropping of criminal charges and sentences.

The Illicit Gains Authority announced in August 2016 that the state had in previous months netted LE301.9 million in reconciliation deals with Salem. This was prior to the LE5.8 billion settlement. The regulatory body said that were 11 outstanding reconciliation requests, while five others had previously been rejected.