Swiss attorney general in Cairo to discuss smuggled Egyptian money

Switzerland’s attorney general arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss the future of hundreds of millions of dollars frozen in Swiss banks belonging to former Egyptian officials; most have been deposited by ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his sons, Anadolu reported.

Egyptian diplomatic sources in Cairo said: “The Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber is due to meet with several Egyptian officials including the Egyptian Attorney General Nabeel Sadiq.”

Lauber had previously said that the frozen money belonging to Mubarak’s family in the Swiss banks is about 700 million Swiss Francs ($695 million). He stressed that this money would not be taken by Egypt unless after a judicial sentence proving Mubarak and his sons were engaged in embezzlement and money laundering.

Last Saturday, the Egyptian Court of Appeal upheld a 3-year prison sentence for Mubarak and his two sons for corruption.

In May, Mubarak and his two sons were sentenced to three years for having embezzled 125m Egyptian pounds (USD 16 million) from funds meant for the maintenance of presidential palaces. They were also fined the same amount and an extra 21m Egyptian pounds.

Lauber previously confirmed that investigations into money laundering by Mubarak and officials of his regime were ongoing.