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333/333
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 06 - 11 - 2012

Minister of Finance Momtaz Al-Said has called upon citizens to support the Egyptian economy by donating to the Central Bank of Egypt account number 333/333, ‬opened by President Mohamed Morsi and named ‬“Egypt's Renaissance”.‬
The bank account is set to receive donations by Egyptian citizens and will also be used to deposit illicit funds retrieved locally and from abroad. ‬Al-Said said in a press statement that this account would respond to the desire by many Egyptian businessmen ‬living abroad to support the Egyptian economy. ‬He added that it will be supervised by the Finance Ministry and the Central Auditing Agency and that the account's balance will be announced periodically. ‬
During his visit to Assiut last week, ‬President Morsi announced the opening of the bank account, ‬emphasising its role in recovering state monies acquired through illegal means. ‬He said: ‬“Anyone who wants to cleanse himself of corruption can put their money in this account.‬”
But the new account has faced criticism. ‬On Sunday, ‬lawyer Samir Sabri filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court against the ‬president's decision to open the bank account. ‬The lawsuit stated that President Morsi has taken the decision hurriedly and without careful study.‬
“This account will not be able to collect a single pound,‬” ‬Shehata Mohamed Shehata, ‬director of the Arab Centre for Integrity and Transparency, ‬told ‬Al-Ahram Weekly. ‬He said it is nonsensical for corrupt businessmen to put their money in the account, ‬as doing so would be an indication that they were in fact corrupt. ‬Shehata affirmed Morsi's obligation as head of the state to ‬“recover the country's funds and fight corruption”.‬
A number of political parties have opposed the ‬“Renaissance” ‬bank account, ‬saying it indicates the state's failure in tracking down corrupt individuals. ‬
According to Samir Radwan, former finance minister, ‬“We should not mix between the legal means to regain funds and addressing the public's conscience and emotions.‬” ‬He said the government must decide whether or not it wants to reach a settlement with businessmen and other members of the former regime who are currently in jail, ‬underlining the importance of recovering ill-gotten monies.‬
In March 2011, ‬the government of Essam Sharaf, ‬in which Radwan was a minister, ‬created an account under the name ‬“Contributions to support the Egyptian economy”, ‬to accept deposits and donations from citizens for the purpose of supporting the Egyptian economy in the aftermath of the 25 ‬January Revolution. ‬The number of the account was 2512011, ‬the date of the revolution.‬
The account succeeded in collecting LE40 ‬million, ‬according to Radwan. ‬However, ‬he suggests issuing bonds for Egyptians living abroad as the best way to attract their funds. ‬He cited Israel and India as examples where the government was able to collect large amounts of money from citizens living abroad through bonds.‬


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