Cairo, March 01: Egypt’s public prosecutor has frozen the assets of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and banned him and his family from travelling abroad while investigating accusations of fraud and corruption.
The prosecutor issued an order freezing the accounts and assets of Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, his two sons Ala and Gamal, and their wives, on Monday, a spokesman for the prosecutor said.
A Cairo criminal court has set March 5 as the date to look into the complaints that Mubarak and his family had acquired wealth through illegal means.
On February 21, Egypt’s prosecutor general Abdel Magid Mahmud requested a freeze on the foreign assets of the former president and his family.
A judicial official said the prosecutor’s office has received several complaints regarding Mubarak’s wealth being outside the country, “which necessitates an investigation.”
Mubarak, who was forced to step down in the face of mass protests, is widely thought to have grown wealthy during his three decades rule.
Media reports suggested that the Mubarak family had “secret accounts in Egyptian banks,” including deposits of $147 million for his wife Suzanne and $100 million each for his sons.
Egypt has already frozen the assets of former government ministers and top officials in Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, some of whom have been imprisoned on corruption charges.
——–Agencies