Egypt seeks Interpol arrest warrant for ex-military leader 

Egyptian authorities yesterday asked the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to place the name of Admiral Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef on its wanted list and to pursue and arrest him. This is following the issuance of a ruling to imprison him for ten years in absentia as a fugitive following his conviction in a corruption case. Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef was a former military leader and chairman of the board of directors of the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport.

The Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Magdy Abdel Bary, ruled on Sunday, to imprison Youssef for ten years, on charges of making illegal deals and making tens of millions of pounds in profits. He was also charged with giving instructions to drop lawsuits against the company for violating its contracts, causing the state to lose millions.

The verdict stipulated the imprisonment of the former military leader, and ten years in prison for Medhat Mansour Mustafa, vice chairman and managing director of the Gulf Egyptian Investment Group, and a fine of 30 million Egyptian pounds (about $618,000).

The Public Funds Prosecution charged the former military leader with unrightfully obtaining and attempting to obtain for others a profit and benefit from a job related to his job, by exploiting the powers of his job. He was also charged with intending to profit from these contracts.

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