Combatting corruption: State tightens measures against taint personnel

CAIRO – 6 December 2017: In a bid to combat corruption, the judiciary has witnessed the arrest of two government personnel over differing charges; one of them being the Mubarak-era Minister of Interior, Habib Al Adly, who turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning.


Adly, who was a major character in the Mubarak era, had escaped before fulfilling his previous seven-year sentence, issued April 15 in the case known as the “Interior Ministry Corruption” case.


Adly’s criminal record at the moment holds nine prominent cases as follows:


1. “Interior Ministry Corruption” Case:


In addition to his sentence, Adly, along with two other former interior ministry officials, were also sentenced to refund a total of LE 1.95 billion ($109.83 million) and pay a fine of the same amount, Al Arabiya reported.


2. “Severing Communications” Case:


After severing communications during the height of the January 25 Revolution as a means of curbing it; Adly along with ousted President Hosni Mubarak are still awaiting a verdict on this case from the Supreme Administrative Court.


3. “Subjugating Army Soldiers” Case:


Giza Criminal Court has sentenced Adly to three years in prison for exploiting soldiers and forcing them to carry out construction labor on lands illegally owned by the government. Adly was additionally fined LE 2 million. The Court of Cassation upheld the jurisdiction on February 4, 2014.


4. “Killing Protestors” Case:


Originally, Adly was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of killing protestors during the January 25 Revolution; however, Cairo Criminal Court acquitted him.


5. “Abusing Power” Case:


This is another case where Adly was sentenced to 12 years in addition to paying a fine for abusing his position and power, yet again the court acquitted Adly from the sentence on November 29, 2014.


6. “Metal Plates” Case:

Adly was sentenced to five years for squandering LE 92 million from the state’s budget; having used them to manufacture metal plates for a German car company. However, he was also acquitted from this case.


7. “Illegal Profiting” Case:

Another case where Adly was sentenced to 12 years in prison for illegally profiting from his position in the government and money laundering. He was additionally fined for LE 4.853 million specifically over illegal profiting and sentenced to an addition five years and fined for LE 9 million over charges of money laundering. Adly was acquitted later on.


8. “All Saints’ Church” Case:

On February 7, 2011 he was investigated after someone reported his involvement in the explosion of the All Saints’ Church in Alexandria. On August 3, 2011, he was acquitted from the charges during his first court trial.

9. “Evading Court Sentence” Case:

Adly was previously charged with prolonging a police officer’s suspension even though a court had ordered otherwise. He had also halted a decision to allow the officer to retire early.

Adly was subsequently sentenced to a month in prison, however, the Court of Cassation accepted his appeal and decided to grant him a retrial.

On December 18, 2016 Adly was acquitted from charges that entailed that he had not fulfilled his court sentences, and he was acquitted from charges that he had disobeyed a court order in prolonging a police officer’s suspension.


Adly’s cases are certainly many. The man is definitely an exemplar model of corruption. But so is former Officer Aly Mazen Khater who was arrested Tuesday for killing a student in Rod El Farag. Khater had opened random fire as a method of settling a fight that was taking place in Rod El Farag, which led to the killing of Saad El Sayed and the injury of his classmate.


Khater has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of LE 1 million.


Such is the fight that the government is now undertaking in Egypt. “Corruption ‘breaks people's morale, and gives them a feeling that there is no hope,’” Sisi has said, according to AFP. AFP further pointed out that corruption, has nevertheless, been one of the main reasons that led to the January 25 Revolution and the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.


“Since 2015, the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) has prosecuted several high-profile cases, including an agriculture minister forced to resign and later sentenced to 10 years for taking bribes. In January [2017], a senior judge hanged himself in custody a day after his arrest for alleged corruption,” AFP reported.


But corruption has always been a massive power-vacuum-creating menace in Egypt. The matter during Mubarak’s era caused the murder of protestors during the January 25 Revolution. Corruption is not only costing the country juridical integrity, at times it is costing the country’s economy and population dearly.


“Losses to state coffers from selling state land at below-market prices translate into losses in state services,” Gad al-Karim, an analyst, stated to AFP.