The Public Funds Prosecution (PFP) has unveiled plans to reach legal and financial settlements with a number of Mubarak-era businessmen and officials, reports Gamal Essam El-Din. PFP Chairman Mustafa Hussein says the prosecution is willing to drop legal cases filed against the men in return for the repayment of embezzled funds. Though he declined to identify the people involved, former minister of housing Ahmed Al-Maghrabi, former minister of trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid, former minister of finance Youssef Boutros Ghali and steel magnate Ahmed Ezz are thought to be included in the list of up to 20 names. In a public announcement on 12 January Hussein explained that the initiative was being pursued as part of government attempts to maximise its revenue in the face of a severe liquidity squeeze and chronic budget deficit. He added that “there will never be reconciliation with any Mubarak-era figures that had a hand in killing protesters during or after the 25 January Revolution.” “We can never reconcile with Mubarak-era officials whose hands are stained with the blood of peaceful protesters,” said Hussein. The initiative comes less than two months after President Mohamed Morsi issued a revolution protection law tailored to send former Mubarak-era officials to trial should prosecutors found new evidence of their involvement in the deaths of protesters. Given the public stance of senior Muslim Brotherhood officials, Hussein's announcement took many commentators by surprise. Essam Al-Erian recently insisted that “Mubarak officials convicted of embezzlement must face prison.” As chairman of the outgoing People's Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Al-Erian had led negotiations with several European countries over the extradition of leading figures, such as former minister of finance Ghali who fled Egypt for the UK following the revolution. Al-Erian's efforts, however, went to no avail while Britain and other European countries refused to give any helping hand. England send a delegation to Egypt this week to debate this issue. Ghali was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison last year on corruption charges. Former minister of trade Rachid was also sentenced in absentia on bribery charges related to the sale of steel-manufacturing licences. The Illicit Gains Authority accuses Rachid of abusing his position as minister of trade to amass a personal fortune and has demanded the repayment of LE9.5 million. Al-Maghrabi is currently serving a five-year prison sentence and, together with businessman Mounir Ghabbour, has been ordered to repay LE72 million in illegal profits accrued from land sales. The PFP received official requests for settlements this week from Rachid, Ghali, Hussein Salem, a business associate of Mubarak currently in Spain, and fugitive tycoon Yassin Mansour. According to reports, lawyers acting for the officials and businessmen have asked the PFP to prepare settlement deals in exchange for dropping all legal charges. On Monday the PFP announced that it had succeeded in recovering LE1 billion in assets stolen under the Mubarak regime. The PFP also said it had submitted a detailed list of charges it wants dropped against Mubarak-era officials and businessmen to the prosecutor-general's office. Alongside Al-Maghrabi, the list includes former information minister Anas Al-Fiki, former chairman of the Egyptian Football Federation Hassan Sakr, and businessman Hamed Al-Shiti. The PFP revealed that the names on the list had already repaid large sums. PFP officials also said this week that they are reviewing a request submitted by the family of former president Hosni Mubarak offering to return LE20 million worth of gifts presented by Al-Ahram Establishment between 2006 and 2011. Mubarak's former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, and former chairman of the Shura Council Safwat Al-Sherif, have separately offered to pay LE4 million in settlement of Al-Ahram gifts. Mahmoud Al-Khodeiri, chairman of the outgoing parliament's Legislative and Constitutional Committee, said “the government initiative is part of President Mohamed Morsi's ongoing efforts to recover stolen monies.” He told Al-Ahram Weekly that “it is useless to keep corrupt former officials in prison when they could be set free in exchange for the return of the billions they had embezzled, money that could be injected into the ailing economy.” Al-Khodeiri also noted that a majority of corrupt former officials “face political disenfranchisement so there is no chance of their returning to politics to continue their corrupt practices”.
