Egypt freezes assets of Hosni Mubarak and family

Authorities in Egypt have frozen the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family, state-run media reported Monday, 10 days after the president stood down amid mass rallies.

Prosecutor General Abdel Magid Mahmud asked the Egyptian foreign minister to contact other nations on the issue, and at the same time requested an investigation into Mubarak's assets, prompted by citizen complaints, Egyptian state television reported.

He said the freeze would apply to Mubarak, his wife, his two sons — including Gamal Mubarak, now reportedly in hiding — and two daughters-in-law.

Mubarak is widely thought to have amassed a fortune of anywhere up to $70 billion during his nearly 30-year stay in power.

Gamal Mubarak, 47, who was widely expected to take the reins of leadership from his father before the January uprising that deposed the ex-leader, was said to be living in a multi-million-dollar mansion in one of the most prestigious areas of London.

According to an investigation carried out by the Evening Standard, the house-keeper had probably been informed to tell reporters that the house had been sold and that the Egyptian dictator’s son no longer lived at the address.

A British Citizen, Gamal worked at the London office of the Bank of America as an investment banker in the 1990s and afterwards set up his own private equity fund, Medinvest.

Many protesters and anti-corruption campaigners have been pressing prosecutors to open an investigation into the Mubarak family's assets.

On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq responded to a reporter's question on the matter by saying he only knew what he "read about Mubarak's wealth in the newspapers and in the media, just like everyone else," CNN reported. Shafiq said that any action on the former president's assets was up to the country's Military Council.

Mubarak's legal representative on Monday denied reports that the former president had grown wealthy while staying in office.

"Hosni Mubarak has submitted his final financial statement to the concerned judicial bodies according to the law," the representative said, according to Egypt's Mena news agency.

Mubarak stepped down as Egypt's president on Feb. 11 following 18 days of unrest in the country.

The same day, Switzerland's government moved to freeze any assets in the country's banks that might belong to Mubarak or his family. "The [government] intends in doing so to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property," Swiss officials said in a statement at the time.

Meanwhile, David Cameron, Britain's prime minister, was in Egypt Monday to urge a "genuine transition" to democracy, becoming the first world leader to visit the country since the overthrow of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Arriving in Cairo on Monday, Cameron held talks with Hussein Tantawi, the country's de facto military ruler, and Ahmed Shafiq, the prime minister, local agencies reported.