Egypt says thwarted Muslim Brotherhood financing scheme

Egyptian authorities said yesterday they had blocked a scheme aimed at financing the banned Muslim Brotherhood group through companies owned by the imprisoned founder and former chairman of dairy and juice firm Juhayna Food Industries, Safwan Thabet.

The news comes days after Amnesty International accused Egypt of holding Thabet and his son in conditions that amount to torture because they refused to surrender their company assets to a government-owned entity.

The Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the scheme that had been unearthed aimed to funnel funds using Thabet’s companies into “terrorist activities”, adding that $8.4 million and ammunition had been found in an apartment in Giza.

The statement described Thabet as a “Brotherhood leader”.

Thabet’s family denied any wrongdoing, while Juhayna’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Authorities arrested Thabet in December 2020, while his son Seif El-Din was detained in February, after becoming chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Amnesty explained that Egyptian authorities could not provide evidence of the alleged affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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