Court acquits former Mubarak secretary of illegal gain charges

CAIRO – 27 June 2018: Criminal Court of North Cairo decided to freeze investigations against former Presidential Secretary Abul Wafa Hussein Rashwan over accusations of illegal graft and abuse of his powers while in office.

The case dialed back to a complaint filed earlier by lawyer Aboul Nagga Mehrazy, who accused Rashawan of misappropriating state-owned plots of land.

The court had referred the case to the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) to look into the allegations of Mehrazy and investigate the accusations leveraged against the Mubarak-era official.

The findings revealed that Rashwan profiteered LE 780, 000, and that there was no proof that he was not abusing power, according to the court ruling that also stated that the defendant was not a culprit of illegal graft anymore as he paid back the above-mentioned sum of money in return of acquittal.

Rashwan was also amongst the defendants accused of wasting the public funds by receiving gifts dedicated to the promotion of the national institution of Al-Ahram.

Rashwan was later acquitted, along with other 288 defendants, after investigations had revealed that they have received the gifts with "good intentions"; other defendants reconciled with the state after paying back the gifts' prices, including Mubarak.

Where has all of the Mubarak-era money gone?

CAIRO - 21 December 2017: Most Egyptians have been wondering since the uprising of January 2011 where all of the Mubarak-era smuggled money and illicit gains have gone. Some people thought they would be richer a few months after the revolution; however, as the days went by, that dream started to fade.

In January 2013, Mubarak paid back LE 18 million to the state as reconciliation for the gifts he and his family members received before 2011, during the period of the four former CEOs of Al-Ahram.

The case, however, is still ongoing for the rest of the defendants.

On March 2, Egypt’s Top Appeals Court issued a final verdict acquitting Mubarak of charges of collusion to kill protesters during the January 25 Revolution in 2011 that ultimately toppled him from power after three decades.