Billionaire Mubarak made fortune in arms deals with Israel, minister says
Egyptians place a banner depicting ousted president Hosni Mubarak as a pharaoh and calling for his trial as thousands of workers gather at Tahrir Square in Cairo on May 1, 2011 to demand social justice in post-revolt Egypt while marking their first Labor Day in three decades without Mubarak.
Egypt’s ousted president Hosni Mubarak owes his vast fortune to corrupt arms deals, gas sales to Israel, the country's new justice minister says.
Also, Mubarak would face the death penalty if convicted of the separate changes brought against him, which include complicity to murder after he allegedly ordered security forces to kill protesters during protests in January and February, according to Mohammed al-Guindi.
"Certainly, if convicted for the crime of killing protesters, it could result in the death sentence," Guindi told the state-owned weekly Al-Ahram, according to the Daily Mail.
Guindi reportedly said that Al-Ahram that Mubarak — whose fortune had been estimated at $70 billion, making him the world's richest man before an assets freeze — made corruption the chief “discourse” of his government.
Mubarak accumulated his wealth from gas exports to Israel through a company owned by his friend, as well as from various arms deals, he said.
Mubarak would be investigated at the Sharm el-Sheikh Hospital in the next few days, the minister said, adding that the only person capable of pardoning Mubarak would be the new president.
"If I were the president, I will not pardon him for killing 800 martyrs," Guindi said. At least 846 people died during the protests that led to Mubarak's ouster, according to a government report released in April, the Washington Post reports.
Mubarak's two sons and wife are also facing charges of corruption and embezzlement of public funds.
Egypt's ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) last month took its first concrete step towards investigating the sources of the wealth of Mubarak, announcing that "a judicial committee would be formed to investigate complaints filed against former president Hosni Mubarak and his family," Al-Ahram reported earlier in April.
"The committee should also pursue all legal measures to sequestrate the Mubaraks' illegitimately gained properties, movable assets and offshore bank accounts," an HCAF statement reportedly said.
"The committee is also urged to obtain the warrants necessary to prevent Mubarak and his family from liquidating assets and to follow up on earlier freezing orders. The committee is entitled to seek the help of local or foreign lawyers to recover Mubarak's assets from abroad and is empowered to review all secret files and reports about the Mubaraks' deposits and property."
— Freya Petersen
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