Committee to seize 66 companies owned by MB leaders

A government committee has resolved to seize 66 companies owned by Muslim Brotherhood leaders Khairat al-Shater and Hassan Malek, the privately-owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm (AMAY) reported on Thursday.

Unnamed sources in the committee told AMAY that the companies would most likely be shut down until their total financial value was estimated.

Headed up by Justice Minister Nayer Othman, the committee was formed by the Justice Ministry to identify the banned Islamist organization’s financial activities and holdings, following a court order issued in September 2013 to freeze and confiscate all Brotherhood assets. In June, the Cabinet gave the committee even greater powers, allowing it to take control of and manage Brotherhood assets, as well.

Employees of the 66 companies would not be harmed by the government’s actions, as their operations would resume very soon, the sources claimed.

The Shater-owned Istiqbal for Modern Furniture topped the list of companies to be seized, as well as Malek’s EBDA business community organization. While Shater has already had other assets confiscated or frozen, this is the first time Malek’s assets have been targeted since the ouster of Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi a year ago.

Last week, the committee announced that it filed a lawsuit against 737 leaders in the Islamist organization on allegations of “funding terrorism,” without listing the names of those leaders. Some say that the move to seize these businesses could indicate that Shater and Malek are at the top of that list.

The lawsuit was based on the committee’s previous investigations into the alleged financing of terrorist activities by Brotherhood leaders.

In December 2013, a court ruling designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and ordered the confiscation of its funds and assets, after which the Ministry of Social Solidarity suspended the activities of over 1,000 NGOs allegedly run by the Brotherhood. Since then, the government has investigated a series of other allegations relating to the financial assets of various Brotherhood leaders.