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.
