As the young activists of the 25 January Revolution call for a "Friday of Purge and Trial" the ruling military council has ordered a committee to be formed to investigate the wealth of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family, reports Gamal Essam El-Din Egypt's ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) took its first concrete step towards investigating the sources of the wealth of deposed president Hosni Mubarak in what appeared to be a response to the 25 January Youth Revolution Coalition's call for a mass demonstration in Tahrir Square tomorrow. On the "Friday of Purge and Trial" protesters plan to stage a mock trial of Mubarak, his family, and three of his closest associates on charges of political and financial corruption. In the demonstration organised last week -- the "Friday of Salvation" -- reformist judge Mahmoud El-Khodeiri announced that Mubarak would be invited to defend himself before a public court in Tahrir Square on 8 April. Coalition groups announced on Tuesday their intent to protest in Tahrir Square to demand the immediate prosecution of the Mubaraks and "the most corrupt men from his regime" in an attempt to pressure the ruling military junta to speed up the process of purging the country of senior officials who peddled political influence to plunder the public purse. Even before he decided to step down on 11 February Mubarak's wealth was the subject of frenzied speculation in the local and foreign media. Several newspapers published stories purporting to provide details about the wealth of Mubarak, his wife Suzanne and their family, especially his younger son Gamal. Several citizens have already filed complaints with the prosecutor-general, alleging that Mubarak possesses enormous assets inside and outside Egypt and that he exploited his position to secure huge sums in secret military deals and from the sale of petroleum and natural gas to Israel. On 5 April the HCAF announced that "a judicial committee would be formed to investigate complaints filed against former president Hosni Mubarak and his family". The statement said that "the job of the committee is to investigate media reports and complaints which allege that the wealth of the Mubarak family grew enormously in recent years". The judicial committee, headed by Mohamed Assem El-Gohari, chairman of the Ministry of Justice's Illicit Gains Office (IGO), will examine estimates published abroad of the extent of the former president's wealth, much of it in the form of prime real estate. The HCAF has said the five-member committee will have the authority to take "all necessary action" to freeze any illegitimately gained assets and prohibit Hosni Mubarak or any other member of his family from gaining access to them. Two months ago the British newspaper The Guardian published a story estimating the Mubarak family fortune at between $40 and $70 billion. Ismail Etman, a member of the HCAF, told editors of Egyptian newspapers on Tuesday that Mubarak had not, as was rumoured, left for Germany and was under house arrest in the Egyptian resort town Sharm El-Sheikh. "The army has severed all connections with the deposed Mubarak," said Etman, "and has received no information about his health condition or any request for permission to travel abroad to receive medical treatment". Fellow HCAF member Mokhtar El-Molla stated that "Mubarak currently lacks any kind of political immunity." "Everyone should know that it was Mubarak who decided to step down. He was not forced to do so though had he not Egypt would have faced the kind of civil war that is currently disrupting Libya and Yemen." The HCAF's statement made clear that the committee is legally authorised to summon Mubarak and any members of his family to answer questions. "The committee should also pursue all legal measures to sequestrate the Mubaraks' illegitimately gained properties, movable assets and offshore bank accounts," the statement said. "The committee is also urged to obtain the warrants necessary to prevent Mubarak and his family from liquidating assets and to follow up on earlier freezing orders. The committee is entitled to seek the help of local or foreign lawyers to recover Mubarak's assets from abroad and is empowered to review all secret files and reports about the Mubaraks' deposits and property." Minister of Justice Mohamed El-Guindi indicated yesterday that "Mubarak would be summoned to come to prosecution authorities to face interrogation." El-Guindi emphasised that "Mubarak would be treated as an ordinary man and he should know that the law is above all and that he lost all presidential privileges." He also indicated that, "if Mubarak was found guilty of masterminding the Battle of the Camel against pro- democracy protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 February, he would be indicted and referred to trial." The HCAF's statement fell short of setting a timetable for the judicial committee's investigation of the Mubaraks' wealth. "I think it was necessary to leave the timetable open to allow for a thorough investigation of the wealth of Mubarak," says Shawqi El-Sayed, a lawyer and a former member of the Shura Council. "This does not, however, mean that it will be open forever." "The most important thing now is that the committee provides the media with accurate information about its job. People want to see concrete results." Hosni Mubarak's 48-year-old son Gamal, the former chairman of the ruling National Democratic Party's (NDP) Policies Committee, is to be summoned by the IGO next week to be questioned about his assets. "Gamal Mubarak will be summoned next week to answer questions about his wealth, including property, bank deposits, shares and why he failed to file periodic statements about his wealth as required by the law," said IGO officials. Investigation reports show that "Gamal Mubarak made a big wealth in recent years and he has to explain how he made it." Zakaria Azmi, Mubarak's chief of staff, is expected today to be summoned for interrogation to provide answers to IGO officials' questions about the source of his wealth. The new IGO orders come after Cairo Appeals Court ruled that the financial dealings of former parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour; former chairman of Shura Council Safwat El-Sherif and Azmi be investigated, their assets frozen and a ban be placed on their travelling abroad. The IGO also ordered public notaries to stop any deals with the three until the investigation into their wealth is completed. The 25 January Youth Revolution Coalition has noted that "the 1 April Tahrir Square demonstration held under the title Friday of Salvation proved effective in forcing the military junta to take immediate and necessary measures towards disclosing the wealth of Mubarak, his family and former close associates, preparing the ground for their prosecution". The coalition now hopes that tomorrow's Friday of Purge and Trial will further advance the process.
