Egypt's biggest corruption case commenced Wednesday with 20 people facing trial before the High State Security Court for embezzling $302 million worth of public funds, Egyptian legal sources reported. Fifteen of the accused are incarcerated, including the Chief Executive of the local Al Nasr Smeltering Company, Osama Abdul Wahab.
Abdul Wahab, in addition to two foreigners of French and German descent, along with three other suspects that have been released on bail are charged with stealing and appropriating public funds, facilitating theft and receiving bribes. Abdul Wahab has been accused of deposting $100 million of his company's funds to his private foreign bank accounts and giving preferential treatment to project offers from his German and French contacts. The European contacts allegedly handed over large bribes to the company in return.
Established in 1980, Egypt’s High States Security Courts are less harsh than a military or emergency security court, however they operate outside the longstanding civil court system. The Security Court judge’s finding of guilt or innocence is not open to appeal. Procedural matters only may be referred to an appeals court. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
