State Council refuse revocation of citizenship by Youssef Ghali

CAIRO – 23 April 2018: The Administrative Court of the State Council rejected on Sunday the revocation of former Financial Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali’s citizenship over obtaining political asylum in Britain. The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Samir Sabri.

“Ghali cannot be handed over to Egypt because of his UK-based political asylum status,” Director of Egypt's Interpol told the state-owned news agency MENA in April 2014.

In 2014, Ghali was arrested in Paris by the Egyptian Interpol over corruption charges from his time in Hosni Mubarak’s government, but he was released because of his status as a political refugee in Britain, which includes a guarantee against imprisonment under the Geneva Convention.

Ghali faces several charges such as the "Car License Plates" case, one of the main ones facing him, where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In September 2017, the Illicit Gains Authority accused Ghali of exploiting his position and influences to collect his fortune which is estimated by experts of the Ministry of Justice to be at LE 400 million.

Ghali was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in a corruption case in 2016, but his lawyer offered to reconcile with the government. The Illicit Gains Authority accepted Ghali’s offer as well as that of other Egyptian businessmen and Mubarak-era figures.

Ghali, whose uncle Boutros Boutros Ghali was UN secretary general from 1992 to 1996, served as finance minister under deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Many former officials were convicted on graft and other charges since Mubarak was toppled in the January Revolution.