Egyptian auditing agency turns against interior ministry

Chairman of the Egyptian Central Auditing Agency (CAA) Hisham Geneina said Wednesday his agency denies claims by Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim that his ministry’s entire activities are monitored by the CAA.

In a statement which reflects the growing tensions between the two agencies, Geneina called on the interior ministry to turn its claims to reality by allowing its activities to be properly monitored by the auditing agency.

According to sources in the CAA, Geneina officially requested the interior minister to allow the agency to monitor all the social clubs run by the ministry.

“These clubs earn huge revenues from renting out wedding and conference halls. However, their funds have never been monitored by the CAA although they are government-owned,” Geneina pointed out.

Geneina requested the interior minister to brief the CAA on the costs of meetings held and attended by the minister and his aides, in addition to regulations pertaining to allowances and bonuses.

Furthermore, Geneina requested clarification from the ministry regarding the lands allocated to it by the government.

Geniena has publicly denounced the interior ministry for being the least cooperative with his agency compared to other ministries. He accused it of violating the law by resisting any monitoring, which he believes casts doubts on its financial activities.