Egypt: Corruption arrests by ACA

Egypt has recently witnessed a wave of corruption incidents. The first incident occurred at Damanhur University, where the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) arrested several people, including President of Damanhur University Dr Obaid Saleh. Saleh’s arrest came on account of charges for receiving a sum of four million EGP for taking bribes in exchange for facilitating the receipt of supplies from suppliers dealing with the university.

The arrest came as a surprise, as Saleh, who was appointed head of Damanhur University in February 2020, indicated that fighting corruption was his first priority. He previously noted that he formed a committee to fight corruption, after the emergence of what was known on social media as the “buffalo teeth” scandal.

Shortly after Saleh’s arrest, the ACA announced the arrest of the former secretary-general of the Cairo governorate on charges of abusing his position and profiting from 76 million EGP.

In addition, according to the ACA: “The Administrative Control arrested an official in the Health Directorate in Beheira Governorate, who was involved in a financial corruption case worth two million EGP.”

READ: Highest number of journalists behind bars in Arab world, in Egypt