Switzerland's decision to stop cooperation with Egypt is groundless

CAIRO - 26 November 2017: The Public Prosecution dismissed as untrue all reasons given by the Swiss authorities to justify their decision to end all judicial cooperation with Egypt as regards restoring funds smuggled by Mubarak-era officials.

These reasons are a mere attempt to wriggle out of the implementation of a Swiss law that allows the Egyptian government to restore all smuggled funds, he said.

On August 28, the Swiss judicial authorities informed Egypt’s top prosecutor Nabil Sadek of the decision to end all forms of judicial cooperation with Egypt over the restoration of the funds of Mubarak-era officials.

The Egyptian prosecution said the Swiss authorities attributed their decision to the failure to find a connection between crimes being investigated in Switzerland and those in Egypt and the acquittal of most of these officials from all corruption charges leveled against them.

All these reasons are untrue, the prosecution said, stressing that investigations with some of Mubarak-era officials are still going on.

It also denied reaching reconciliation with all Mubarak-era officials involved in corruption charges, saying the names of Mubarak-era officials whom the Egyptian authorities requested judicial assistance from the Swiss bodies are not included in the reconciliation file.

In addition, verdicts issued against former president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, in the presidential palaces case were sent to the Swiss authorities to take action and release the funds but nothing was done.

Also, Egyptian courts handed down jail sentences against former housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, businessman Mohamed Magdi Rasekh and former interior minister Habib el Adli.

The prosecution also made clear that the Egyptian side provided the Swiss bodies with all needed legal information that could help in their investigations over money laundering charges. However, the Swiss authorities turned a blind eye to Egypt's judicial assistance requests in this regard.

Till now, the Egyptian prosecution was not allowed to examine the report conducted Swiss bodies that prove there is no link between the crimes committed by Alaa and Gamal Mubarak in Egypt and those being investigated in Switzerland.