Interior Ministry: Brotherhood leaders plotted to devalue the pound, destroy the nation

The Interior Ministry says it foiled a Muslim Brotherhood plot to destroy the Egyptian economy by destabilizing the pound, the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported Friday.

Security forces arrested business tycoon Hassan Malek and four other former Brotherhood leaders on Thursday after receiving intelligence that they were planning to smuggle foreign currency abroad through exchange bureaus affiliated with the banned group.

The Egyptian pound's value plummeted to LE7.93 to the US dollar earlier this week. Some analysts say the continued decline in foreign reserves is to blame — in September, reserves fell to just US$16.3 billion, scarcely enough to cover three months' worth of imports.

The owners of the exchange outlets in question were also arrested, Al-Ahram said. Fugitive businessman Abdel Rahman Seoudi was reportedly implicated in the case, as well.

The Interior Ministry said the suspects were in possession of documents outlining plans to destroy the economy, and a set of instructions explaining how to drive down the price of the Egyptian pound.

State officials have been after Malek’s companies since a September 2013 court order gave the government permission to freeze and confiscate all Brotherhood assets in the wake of former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster.

Malek’s family has also been targeted by the authorities. Both his sons were arrested in August and November 2013 on charges stemming from the violent dispersal of the pro-Morsi Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in. His son Omar was sentenced to death in April on charges of setting up an operations room to guide protesters at the camp.