Alexandria's Prosecution Office said Tuesday that a complaint against leftist MP Haitham Al-Hariri, accusing him of misusing public funds, was filed this week. Chairman of the Prosecution Said Abdel-Mohsen indicated that the investigation into the complaint will begin only after the parliamentary immunity of Al-Hariri is lifted. "We will officially request parliament that Al-Hariri's immunity be lifted so that we can question him," Abdel-Mohsen said. The complaint against Al-Hariri, filed by lawyer Tarek Mahmoud, accuses him and head of Alexandria's Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (Sidpec) of misusing public funds. According to Mahmoud's complaint, Al-Hariri received money from Sidpec in violation of Articles 31 and 32 of the parliament. "These two articles allow MPs who work in public sector companies to receive only their monthly salaries as well as periodical bonuses, but they cannot do this if they work in joint stock investment companies like Sidpec," the complaint said. Alexandria's prosecution authorities said they have documents showing that Al-Hariri has continued receiving LE36,000 in salary and incentives per month from Sidpec even after he was elected a deputy in parliament in January 2016. "The parliamentary law asks MPs not to have any financial deals with investment companies as long as they are members of parliament," said the complaint. According to Mahmoud's complaint, Al-Hariri and the chairman of Sidpec should be investigated “for their corruption and misuse of public funds." "Al-Hariri and head of the company should be summoned for questioning," the complaint added. In a quick response, Al-Hariri vehemently defended himself, insisting that the charges against him were politicised. “These charges are not true. They represent a form of character assassination because of my opposition policies and my attacks against the government's economic policies in parliament," said Al-Hariri. Al-Hariri indicated that once he was elected in parliament, he officially informed Sidpec that he would no longer be entitled to exercise his job or receive money. "The law requires that I devote all of my time to my parliamentary business and this is what I did," said Al-Hariri. Mahmoud's complaint said while Al-Hariri appears on TV channels defending the poorer classes, he allowed himself to receive money illegally from an investment company. "This is not related to politics as he claims," the complaint said. Al-Hariri, the son of Alexandria's high-profile MP and former presidential candidate Abul-Ezz Al-Hariri who died in 2014, heads a leftist parliamentary coalition which is highly critical of government policies. The coalition, entitled The 25-30 Bloc, asked last week that the government of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail be dismissed after it unveiled a package of IMF-inspired economic decisions on 3 November without informing parliament in advance. "This government decided to toe the line of the IMF at the expense of the poor and limited-income classes," said Al-Hariri's bloc in a statement. Al-Hariri has also been critical of Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, accusing him of turning parliament into a rubber stamp institution. He also complained that Abdel-Aal's foreign visits cost parliament a lot of money at a time when Egypt is suffering from a severe economic crisis. Al-Hariri also attacked the government for approving an agreement that allows two Red Sea islands – Tiran and Sanafir – be recognised as located in the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia.
