Egypt's ex-PM, ministers convicted in graft case

An Egyptian court has sentenced former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to a one-year suspended jail term.

Confirming the sentence, judicial sources said two other ministers from Hosni Mubarak's cabinet were also sentenced to prison for graft on Tuesday.

This is the first conviction to result in a jail term for Nazif, who was highly regarded by many investors for driving market liberalisation measures that helped boost economic growth to about an annual seven per cent before the global financial crisis.

Others sentenced

Former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adli, one of the most hated members of Mubarak's administration was sentenced to five years because of the brutality of his police force and former finance minister, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, received 10 years.

Boutros-Ghali, who is being tried in absentia, and Adli have both been sentenced in other cases.

Charges

The three were charged with squandering 92 million Egyptian pounds in public funds in a case involving alleged irregularities in the procurement of vehicle licence plates.

The sources said that they were fined that sum and must return the same amount to the state.

“Boutros-Ghali and Adli were fined another 100 million,” the sources added.

Adli was sentenced in May to 12 years in prison on separate charges of profiteering and money laundering. Boutros-Ghali has also been sentenced in absentia to 30 years in jail for profiteering and abusing state and private assets.

An administrative court fined Mubarak, Nazif and Adli 540 million pounds in May for cutting mobile and Internet services during protests in January.

REUTERS/Williams