Judicial and watchdog authorities freeze assets belonging to three of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's most senior officials, reports Gamal Essam El-Din During protests in Tahrir Square on Friday, 1 April, the 25 January Revolution Coalition called for three of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's most loyal supporters to be tried on charges of corruption, graft and profiteering. Former speaker of the People's Assembly Fathi Sorour; former chairman of the Shura Council and secretary- general of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Safwat El-Sherif and former chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmi are three of Mubarak's longest-serving officials. According to the pro-democracy activists of the 25 January Revolution Coalition "Sorour, El-Sherif and Azmi are the three major symbols of political corruption in the age of Mubarak and acted as the tools of the deposed president in stifling political life". The protesters' calls came a day after the Ministry of Justice's Illicit Gains Office (IGO) placed a travel ban on the three former officials. IGO Chairman Assem El-Gohari said the order was issued after reports prepared by the Administrative Control Agency (ACA) and other watchdog institutions indicated "tremendous growth in recent years in the wealth of Sorour, El-Sherif and Azmi". The reports, explained El-Gohari, concluded that "these three heavyweight officials had exploited their leading positions to peddle political influence and secure illegal fortunes". According to El-Gohari, the IGO ban also applies to the trio's wives and children. On Monday the travel ban was supplemented by a freeze on all assets of the three men and their families. The IGO order was reinforced by Cairo's Court of Appeals which on the same day ruled that "detailed and complete statements about the bank accounts and other forms of wealth owned by Sorour, El-Sherif and Azmi be fully disclosed". The ruling of the Court of Appeals must still be ratified by Cairo criminal court. According to several watchdog reports Sorour, Azmi and El-Sherif amassed large fortunes in the form of plots of land in a number of coastal governorates and prime real estate in tourist resorts such as Marina. The three registered most of these possessions in the names of their wives and children in an attempt to conceal their own worth and evade taxes. Several complaints filed with the prosecutor-general allege that Sorour, El-Sherif and Azmi exploited their political influence for personal gain. Sorour, for example, is accused of protecting former housing minister Ibrahim Suleiman from potentially embarrassing interpolations in the People's Assembly in return for a luxury property in Marina. Suleiman, who served as minister of housing for 11 years, was also prohibited from travelling abroad on Monday. In a press interview last week Sorour said he accrued the bulk of his personal wealth while working as a lawyer before becoming parliamentary speaker in 1990 and that the wealth of his children was a result of them occupying well- paid jobs. "I have never had a hand in helping my children get jobs or acquire property," he insisted. El-Sherif is accused of exploited his 22 years as minister of information to help his son Ashraf set up a media company which entered into lucrative advertising deals with the Radio and Television Union. El-Sherif disappeared completely from public life after he was forced to resign from NDP's executive office on 5 February. Azmi faces allegations that he used his 21 years as chief of Mubarak's presidential staff to extort bribes from businessmen seeking to run as NDP candidates in parliamentary elections. The 25 January activists plan to hold a public trial of the three men tomorrow in Tahrir Square on what they have dubbed the Friday of Trial and Prosecution. They also intend to place Mubarak and his younger son Gamal in the dock: it has long been a demand of the revolutionaries that Mubarak and his family be prosecuted. Some media reports have placed the Mubarak family's wealth at $70 billion. They are currently living in a palatial villa in Sharm El-Sheikh, widely believed to have been built for the former president by businessman Hussein Salem. The Higher Council of the Armed Forces responded to recent rumours that Mubarak and his family had left for Saudi Arabia or Germany by announcing they were under house arrest in Egypt. Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud has said that "Mubarak will be summoned for trial once watchdog institutions complete their reports about his personal wealth and that of his family." Also on Monday, Giza's Criminal Court announced that a final verdict on the money laundering charges levelled against former interior minister Habib El-Adli will be handed down on 5 May. El-Adli -- Mubarak's ruthless interior minister for 14 years -- faces charges of money laundering and embezzlement as well as peddling influence. Bank accounts belonging to El-Adli and his family were frozen early last month.
