The South Cairo Criminal Court has refused to look into the retrial of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz on charges of money laundering and referred the case back to the Court of Cassation. Ezz was convicted in October 2012 of charges of laundering LE6.5 billion in illegally acquired funds in relation to his acquisition of Ezz El-Dekheila steel plant. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and a LE19.3 billion fine. In May 2013 his appeal for a retrial was successful. On Tuesday, the criminal court stated that it had already issued a verdict against Ezz on the same charges and thus there is a legal impediment against the court looking into his retrial. Ezz, the former secretary-general of Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP), was dismissed from his position as chairman of Ezz El-Dekheila in May 2011. In December 2012, Egypt's Court of Cassation cancelled another 10-year sentence a court had given him on graft charges related to the illegal sale of steel licences. He has not been released from detention as he faces a number of other charges. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/78927.aspx
