Egypt's Deputy Agriculture Minister Youssef Abdul Rahman has been put under arrest Friday, August 23, and is facing possible charges of corruption. The high-ranking official was detained for questioning along with the Cairo representative of an unnamed French pesticides exporter company. Both men are suspected of being involved in a bribery scheme, police sources told AP.
President Hosni Mubarak's government has recently launched an anti-corruption campaign, in the hope of convincing more foreign investors to put their money into Egyptian ventures. Earlier this month, Egypt’s biggest corruption trial ended when the Supreme State Security Court sentenced 31 people to jail, among them former ministers and members of parliament from the ruling National Party.
The officials were convicted of obtaining a total of $181.6 million in loans from five local banks without due guarantees and then failing to repay them, reported UPI. In the past few months, Egyptian courts have also convicted former Giza governor Maher Al-Jundi of taking bribes and sentenced him to jail. Former Finance Minister Muheddin Al-Gharib and five other senior officials were sent to prison for misuse of public funds.
Established in 1980, Egypt’s Supreme State Security Courts are less harsh than a military or Emergency Security court, however they operate outside the longstanding civil court system. The Security Court judge’s finding of guilt or innocence is not open to appeal. Procedural matters only may be referred to an appeals court. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
