Travel ban for Mubarak’s daughter-in-law overturned

CAIRO – 21 December 2017: The Cairo Criminal Court overturned on Thursday the decision made by the attorney general to ban the travel of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s daughter-in-law, Heidy Rassekh.

The court ruled that the decision to ban Rassekh‘s travel is null and void. The law and constitution guarantee freedom of movement. Since 2011, Rassekh’s funds have been under the domain of the Illegal Profiteering Authority.

Following the uprising of January 2011, the Illicit Gains Authority decided to impose a travel ban on ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s daughters-in-law, Heidy Rassekh and Khadiga El-Gammal.

Rassekh and Gammal, wives of Mubarak’s sons Alaa and Gamal respectively, have already been interrogated over charges of illegal profiteering.

Both women were prevented from leaving the country along with their children, Omar Alaa and Farida Gamal, pending further investigation.

They presented documents before the judge proving ownership of their lands, villas and companies before being married to their husbands as a proof that those assets don’t belong to the ousted president’s family.

Furthermore, each signed official papers authorizing the judge to review their bank accounts inside and outside of Egypt.

The Guardian has estimated the Mubarak family’s fortune at as much as $70 billion. Mubarak has formerly stated he welcomes a probe into his finances, denying possession of any assets outside of Egypt.

“I do not own any accounts or assets outside Egypt...This is for the Egyptian people to know that their former president has accounts only in one Egyptian bank, according to what I have mentioned in my final financial statement. I agree to offer any authorizations that would enable the Egyptian public prosecutor – through the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's contacts with foreign ministries worldwide – to take all the necessary legal procedures to reveal whether my wife, either of my sons, Alaa or Gamal, and I own any properties or assets directly or indirectly, whether they were commercial or personal,” Mubarak said.

On Wednesday, the Swiss government decided to end a freeze on Egyptian assets worth about $436 million, including those of former President Hosni Mubarak.

The government explained that the assets were frozen in the wake of the Arab Spring.

“With the conclusion of the joint legal assistance procedure between Switzerland and Egypt, the Federal Council decided to lift with immediate effect the freeze on assets in the context of this country,” the Swiss government said. The funds will not be released until the Swiss federal prosecutor decides whether its source is legitimate, it added.