Egypt’s public prosecutor has asked that former officials including ex-Housing Minister Ahmed El Maghraby and former Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid be put on trial.

The officials, along with steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, are suspected of squandering public funds and profiteering, the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that cited a spokesman. Others referred to trial include businessman Yasseen Mansour and an Emirati businessman, Waheed Metwally Youssef.
Investigations found that El Maghraby sold a piece of state-owned land in violation of regulations preventing selling before the full price has been paid, according to the statement. The deal eventually earned him and a company with which he is associated more than 159 million Egyptian pounds ($27 million) in profit and meant the loss of more than 272 million Egyptian pounds that could have gone to the state, the prosecutor said.
El Maghraby sold the land to a company, which then sold it to another business that was later acquired by Palm Hills Development SAE, in which El Maghraby holds shares, according to the statement.
Investigators also found that Rachid and Amr Mohammed Assal, who headed the Industrial Development Authority, in agreement with Ezz issued licenses for companies owned by Ezz in violation of ministerial decisions, the prosecutor said. The public prosecutor has issued decisions to freeze the suspects’ assets but not those of the companies in which they hold shares so as not to disrupt their economic activities.
Corruption allegations against officials and businessmen close to the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak have fueled 18 days of mass protests that led to Mubarak’s Feb. 11 ouster after 30 years in power. (Source: blommberg.com)