Egypt’s Court of Cassation issues final acquittal for Mubarak-era culture minister Hosni

Egypt’s Court of Cassation issued on Sunday a final acquittal for Mubarak-era culture minister Farouk Hosni, who was tried for profiteering while serving as minister.

The court rejected on Sunday an appeal by the prosecution against an acquittal order by a criminal court in January 2013.

In 2013, Hosni was found not guilty of making illicit gains and profiteering from October 1987 to January 2011.

The January decision came several months after a Cairo administrative court reversed a verdict freezing Hosni’s assets worth EGP 9 million (around $512,000).

Last week, a Cairo criminal court dismissed a corruption case against Mubarak-era steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz and the former head of the Industrial Development Authority Amr Assal, removing their names from a travel ban list after the pair reached a financial settlement with the state.

Ezz will pay EGP 1.7 billion as part of a reconciliation deal with the Egyptian government, according to Egypt’s prosecutor-general Nabil Sadek.

Source:english.ahram.org.eg