A spate of charges against a number of leading businessmen has thrown a spotlight on the link between wealth and political power, writes Gamal Essam El-Din Real-life dramas stole the limelight from the dozens of soap operas that in Ramadan are aired on television screens around the clock. The first erupted on 2 September when construction magnate Hisham Talaat Mustafa was arrested and charged with complicity in the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim. Then, two days later, on 4 September, Mohamed Farid Khamis, another business mogul, was ordered to testify before the prosecution-general on alleged bribery charges involving two lawyers in one of his companies. Khamis is chairman of Oriental Weavers, Egypt's largest carpet producer, and is also involved in real estate and property-development. The two men are prominent members of both the NDP and Shura Council as well as of the ruling party's powerful Policies Council, chaired by Gamal Mubarak. They are, too, leading contributors to charitable foundations headed by both Gamal Mubarak and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. Charges against Mustafa and Khamis, in addition to a number of other businessmen during the past two years, refuelled debate over the cosy relationship between businessmen and politicians. According to Hassan Nafaa, professor of political science at Cairo University, the two cases have set alarm bells ringing over the relationship between business and political interests. "This has become so explosive that it risks undermining society. It is a ticking bomb," says Nafaa. "Mustafa is not just a business tycoon but a man who amassed a great deal of political power thanks to his membership of the ruling party and closeness to decision-makers in the government." The case of Mustafa does not speak so much about the tragedy of one man, argues Nafaa, but about "the unchecked powers of Egypt's new business class". Al-Ahram political analyst Gamal Abdel-Gawad sees the sudden plethora of criminal cases involving businessmen as an inevitable result of the transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy. "At the early stages of such transitions businessmen commonly join the ruling party and often indulge in illegal practices. In later stages you find industrialists behaving more responsibly," Abdel-Gawad told Al-Ahram Weekly. A 2005 study by the Research Department of the People's Assembly -- lower house of parliament -- suggests that businessmen first displayed interest in joining parliament and the ruling party as early as 1990. "It was the year," the study notes, "when Egypt embarked on the first steps towards a more market-oriented economy, adopting a range of privatisation and liberalisation policies." The study tracks the increasing number of businessmen entering parliament. There were just eight businessmen in the 1990-1995 parliament and 37 in the 1995-2000 parliament. "In 2000-2005 the number shot up to 84, meaning that businessmen accounted for 20 per cent of the total number of MPs." Then in 2005 more than 500 businessmen decided to run in the elections, with 150 of them winning seats in the current parliament. While some of these now chair crucial parliamentary committees, others have been embroiled in cases involving corruption and the abuse of power. In the People's Assembly iron and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz is the chairman of the Budget Committee as well as being the NDP's secretary for organisational affairs. Mohamed Abul- Enein, a ceramics tycoon, is chairman of the Industry Committee while Hisham Talaat Mustafa's brother Tareq is now the chairman of the Housing Committee. Businessmen have also appeared in the Shura Council, either as elected members or appointees. There are now 30 leading businessmen sitting in Egypt's upper house. Several business MPs have been the focus of corruption charges since 2005. NDP MP Emad El-Galada was sentenced to three years in jail in 2007 after being found guilty of offering bribes to officials in the Ministry of Petroleum in an attempt to secure classified information. El-Galada, however, remains free pending re-trial after the Court of Cassation overturned his sentence. Hani Sorour, who was the focus of a recent scandal over the supply of defective equipment, including contaminated blood bags, to public hospitals, was acquitted of the charges. Prosecution authorities have appealed against the ruling. Abdel-Qader Hamza, a property developer and NDP MP, was sentenced to life after he was found guilty of killing a rival businessman. Several business MPs have faced hostile press campaigns, accused of abusing their power and parliamentary immunity to further their business interests. They include Ahmed Ezz, who was criticised by the independent and opposition media for allegedly blocking the passage of a legislative amendment aimed at stiffening anti-trust laws. Ezz's companies enjoy a virtual monopoly of the local iron and steel market. Mustafa El-Said, NDP MP and chairman of the People's Assembly Economic Committee, argues that there is nothing unusual in businessmen occupying senior positions in parliament or government. "Look at Burlosconi in Italy, the late Rafik Al-Hariri in Lebanon or Dick Cheney in the US," said El-Said. Egypt's problem, he argues, is not that businessmen occupy such positions but that they do so in the absence of regulations covering any conflict of interest. "It is high time," says El-Said, "that this anomaly was tackled." Meanwhile, the indictment of Mustafa continued for the third week to grip the attention of the public. Most legal experts expect court hearings on the case to begin in the second week of October, after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday. In the interim prosecution authorities have disclosed more details about the murder. Mohsen El-Sukkari, a former police officer, who is alleged to have been paid $2 million by Mustafa to kill Tamim, told investigators that Mustafa had first given him "clear orders" to murder Tamim in London. "He ordered me to push her from a high building in the same way actress Soad Hosni and Ashraf Marawan were killed." El-Sukkari claims that he recorded many of the phone calls in which Mustafa discussed Tamim's murder. Mustafa is thought to have first met Tamim two years ago. They entered into a relationship but when Tamim left Cairo for London Mustafa is said to have discovered that she was involved with Iraqi athlete Riad El-Azawi. It was then that he determined to exact his terrible revenge. Chief of Presidential Staff Zakaria Azmi is said to have first informed President Mubarak of Mustafa's links to the Tamim case. "No one is above the law and the final word should be left to the prosecution and judicial authorities," Mubarak is reported to have responded.
