The Muslim Brotherhood fielded harsh criticism Monday against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, describing him as a loyalist of ousted President Mubarak. The group accused Shafiq on its website, Ikhwanonline.com, of allowing “the corrupt ministers” of Mubarak to transfer money abroad during his short term as prime minister. The group also accused him of appointing more than 600 army generals and brigadier generals for position in the Ministry of Civil Aviation with salaries totaling more than LE9 million. Ikhwanonline said that Shafiq chose General Ibrahim Manaa as the Minister of Civil Aviation in his government to cover up corruption and squander public money. The site referred to corruption cases during Shafiq's term as Minister of Civil Aviation in the government of former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif including issuing direct orders to award construction contracts worth millions of Egyptian pounds in terminals 2 and 3 in Cairo International Airport to Magdy Rashekh and Mahmoud al-Gamal, both in-laws of Mubarak. The group also said that Shafiq owns a villa in the fifth settlement, an upscale New Cairo neighborhood, and another in Marina, on the North Coast of Egypt, that former Housing Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Suleiman appropriated for him. The site attached a photo of Shafiq with Mubarak and Nazif and another photo portraying half of Shafiq's face as Mubarak with the word “Faceoff” under it. The site concluded its report saying that these are some of the accusations against Shafiq, who is running for president, adding that “public opinion still does not know that he is absolutely loyal to Mubarak and that he'd better hide himself." In June, the Administrative Surveillance Authority accused Shafiq of squandering public funds during his tenure as minister of civil aviation, a post he held during the reign of Mubarak. Mubarak appointed Shafiq as prime minister on 29 January 2011 during the Egyptian revolution. However, Shafiq resigned from his post on 3 March following a mass protest calling for his departure.
