Egypt jails steel magnate, two former officials for corruption

[News_Editor]

Egypt jails steel magnate, two former officials for corruption

2011-09-16 08:50:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- A court in Cairo on Thursday sentenced a powerful steel magnate associated with the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and two other Egyptian officials to prison for corruption, the Al-Ahram state-owned newspaper reported.

Businessman and head of the former ruling National Democratic Party, Ahmed Ezz, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on graft charges related to the illegal sale of steel licenses. Amr Assal, the former chairman of the Industrial Development Authority, was also handed a 10-year sentence.

The court also fined Ezz and Assal 660 million Egyptian pounds ($111 millions) for their crimes. Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the former Minister of Trade and Industry, was fined 1.4 billion Egyptian pounds ($235 million) and received a 15-year sentence in absentia.

In February, an Egyptian prosecutor ordered the detention of Assal for investigation on suspicions of squandering public funds. He was detained on charges that he granted a license without legal merits to Ezz Steel for a factory near the Red Sea. Shares of Egypt's Ezz Steel Co fell 5.1 percent after the court decision, according to the newspaper.

Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim al-Adly and six other former senior officials are currently on trial. They face charges over the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters during the 18-day uprising, which toppled Egypt's 30-year ruler.

According to Amnesty International, at least 840 people were killed and over 6,000 people were injured in the violent repression. During the trial's first session, Mubarak pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of anti-government protesters and abusing his powers.

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