I'm not trying to disappoint people at the start of this new year, but the question of where the smuggled Egyptian money has gone still lingers. The Guardian had reported that ousted President Mubarak smuggled $ 70 Billion out of the country following the January 2011 uprising. The news was published in the Egyptian media but later proved inaccurate. Swiss authorities however, declared they were in possession of large sums of money, amounting to 750 million Francs, and that they would cooperate with Egypt in returning them should Mubarak be found guilty by an Egyptian court of law. After Mubarak's acquittal, what's to become of this money? Businessmen and political figures have also smuggled fortunes out, yet no one has tried to broach this sensitive matter with the Egyptian people who still await the return of their money. Egypt's National Bank denied any speculation about money smuggling, so did the anti-graft organizations. Mr. Salah Montasser wrote Monday that Egyptian business tycoons who owned private jets before January 2011 - and there's nothing wrong with that - had sold them, raising concerns over a possible connection with the ongoing investigations. This is not about journalistic sensationalism but rather about transparency and accountability, two essential concepts at this stage of Egypt's history. Egyptian authorities must come clean on the matter in order to gain the people's trust. Banking authorities must answer this fundamental question: how was the money smuggled out of the country? The Muslim Brotherhood, (MB), had its own share of illegal trade and a new business network suddenly rose to the surface without its origins being known. Meanwhile, the world has been using direct finance very sparingly, since E-banking and checks have taken over the world of commerce. We are in dire need of more transparency and accountability in 2015.
