Media Supreme Council official detained for 15 days over bribery charges

CAIRO – 23 August 2019: A judge ordered the detention of Ahmed Selim, the secretary general of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, Egypt's top media body, for additional 15 days over bribery charges.

A woman and her son were also detained for 15 days over accusation of offering bribes to Selim in exchange for obtaining a permit to launch a TV channel.

The Administrative Control Authority has earlier obtained voice recordings for the defendants, in which Selim admitted taking bribes in exchange for the permits, according to official reports.

The ACA has arrested Selim red-handed. Security sources said there are audio and video recordings confirms Selim's involvement in requesting an LE 200,000 bribe ($12,069).

Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has always stressed on applying strict measures within government institutions to crack down any violation. He hailed the role played by the ACA in different occasions.

The ACA arrested in July six suspects involved in a corruption case, where some individuals attempted to purchase a state-owned land that is worth LE 6 billion for just LE 350 million.

Earlier in the same month, Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadeq referred to Cairo Criminal Court five defendants charged with committing larceny and forgery to unlawfully acquire buildings possessed by the Ministry of Interior in Cairo's Shubra neighborhood.