Gamal and Alaa Mubarak to remain in prison for graft case

Saturday 02-06-2012 03:13 PM

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak (R), sons of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, stand in a cage during their trial at the police academy in Cairo August 15, 2011. Stringer/REUTERS

Ousted president Mubarak's sons, Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, will still sit in jail until they face the graft case related to stock market corruption, clarified security sources to Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel after a judgment in another case today seemed to release them.

The brothers' first graft case, where they were tried along with their father, was dropped on Saturday. This is one of the judgements issued today that has enfuriated many Egyptians and has them taking to the streets to protest.

Gamal and Alaa are charged with accumulating LE2.51 billion in illicit profits by violating capital market laws and taking control of a majority stake in AWB through investment and private equity funds that they controlled.

Judge Adel El-Saeed said the accusations include a claim that the accused made use of private equity funds based in Cyprus and the British Channel Islands to trade on AWB shares and gain large profits.

He claimed that the accused had deliberately hidden their identities and other essential information, damaging the principles of equal opportunity and transparency of information.

El-Saeed said the accused may have managed to take control of an 80 per cent stake in the bank, giving them control over its management.

The two sons of Egypt's ex-president and the two chief executives of investment bank EFG-Hermes Hassan Heikal and Yasser El-Mallawany will stand trial alongside five others for corrupt stock exchange dealings.

In today's trial, the two sons were accused of illegally accepting gifts of five villas as well as two million metres of land in Sharm El-Sheikh from businessman Hussein Salem, a fugitive and co-defendant in today's trial. This case, however, was dropped.