Verdict on Mubarak’s smuggled funds set for February 24

A southern Cairo court set the date for a final verdict in the case against deposed President Hosni Mubarak and his sons, concerning their smuggled funds, to February 24, state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Monday.

The case also concerns a group of Mubarak-era officials, who have been accused of illegal profiteering and stealing public funds.

Representatives of several rights groups have demanded the defendants are tried for all alleged charges of corruption.

Lawyers also requested the inclusion of reports from the Central Auditing Agency, which has added many cases of financial corruption and the smuggling of public funds to the case files.

Meanwhile, Cairo Criminal Court released former Tourism Minister Zoheir Garana with a LE100,000 bail, pending investigations, on charges of the illegal possession of state lands and facilitating the squandering of public funds to two businessmen, MENA reported. The case has been adjourned until January 20.

The retrial follows a court verdict last February sentencing Garana and the two businessmen in absentia, one of whom is an Emirati, to five years in prison and a fine of LE293 million for the squandering of public funds. Investigations showed that the former minister facilitated the sale of illegal state-owned land to his two colleagues.

In addition on Monday, the state council adjourned the case of the selling of Dekheila Steel Company stocks to former Mubarak regime official Ahmed Ezz until March 17, privately-owned Al-Watan newspaper reported.

Lawyer and former parliamentarian Hamdy al-Fakhrany initially filed the case, demanding a decision regarding the re-sale of stocks that were allegedly sold to the business tycoon at a price below their actual market value.