State freezes assets of another 30 MB leaders

The Egyptian government froze the assets of another 30 leaders affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization, the official Middle East News Agency reported on Monday.

The decision was made by a committee formed by the Ministry of Justice, following a court ruling by an administrative court in September 2013.

The committee’s head and deputy minister, Ezzat Khamis, clarified that the decision included suspending the activities of 12 NGOs and five companies in media and contracting, which are allegedly owned and operated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Coordinator Wadea Nashed said that the committee had launched an investigation into the suspended companies and NGOs and discovered many legal irregularities, which would be referred to the public prosecution.

The committee was tasked with implementing the court order, as well as a government decree designating the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, tightening control on its assets and moving to close its offices and associations across the country.

As part of this effort, the Social Solidarity Ministry released a list of around 1055 NGOs that allegedly belonged to the banned organization, including prominent Salafi organizations Jama’a al-Sha’eyya, Ansar al-Sunnah and Al-Shubban al-Muslimeen, among others.

The ministry said it plans to appoint a guardian to monitor these NGOs and ensure that services to the poor are not affected.

Khamis claimed the committee had found that the administrations of the suspended NGOs were wholly controlled by the Brotherhood and used to finance illegal activities.

The committee head added that the government has so far confiscated or frozen the assets — including real estate, bank accounts, transfers, stocks, bonds, and land deeds — of 132 members of the Brotherhood.