Egypt's Administrative Control Authority (ACA) said on Wednesday that a number of supply ministry officials have been recently arrested for receiving more than EGP 2 million in bribes. The arrested officials include the chairman of Food Industries Holding Company, his office manager, and the minister's media consultant and consultant for political communication, according to the statement the ACA released. They are accused of receiving bribes from food supply commodities companies in return for issuing direct supply orders and facilitating payment of dues. ACA officers have seized documents related to the case and are currently undergoing procedures to refer the defendants to prosecution, the statement read. The officials were arrested on Tuesday inside the Ministry of Supplies and Internal Trade's headquarters in Cairo. The case is not the first in recent years to involve corruption inside the supply ministry. In 2016, former minister of supply Khaled Hanafy resigned over alleged corruption and graft in the wheat supply sector. In January 2018, the prosecution of public funds dropped Hanafy as a defendant in case involving the squandering of public funds in the ministry. The Administrative Control Authority, the state body responsible for enforcing laws and regulations within state bodies, has been waging a national campaign on corruption in recent years. In 2015 then-minister of agriculture Salah Helal and his office manager were arrested on bribery charges. In 2017, they were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
