Egypt acquits Mubarak-era minister of corruption

An Egyptian court has acquitted Habib Al-Adly, the interior minister during Hosni Mubarak’s rule, of profiteering and money laundering charges, judicial sources said yesterday.

The sources said the hearing, held by the South Cairo Court, lasted only a few minutes, where the judges called on Al-Adly then announced the verdict of acquittal. The former minister was charged with profiteering and money laundering approximately five million Egyptian pounds ($700,000).

Al-Adly’s retrial came in light of the verdict issued by the Court of Cassation which ruled, in March 2013, against the Criminal Court’s verdict convicting him and sentencing him to 12 years imprisonment.

In May 2011, the Giza Criminal Court sentenced Al-Adly to 12 years imprisonment, ordered him to pay a fine of 4.853 million Egyptian pounds ($678,000) and ordered him to repay the same amount; this was for the charge of profiteering. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 9.026 million Egyptian pounds ($1,262,000) and the ordered to repay the exact amount related to the charge of money laundering, which amounting to 4.513 million Egyptian pounds ($631,000).

The state security prosecutor had referred Al-Adly to the Criminal Court for abusing his powers by making illegal gains as a public servant during the period between October 2010 and February 7, 2011. He was accused of ordering his subordinates in the ministry to quickly find a buyer for a piece of land set aside to build houses for police officers.

Investigations revealed that the land was sold to the director of the contracting company which completed building works for the Interior Ministry in a way that benefited the former interior minister with a profit of 4.85 million Egyptian pounds.

Al-Adli was also charged with money laundering with regards to his crime of profiteering.