Egypt's General Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud has referred several officials and businessmen to a criminal court on charges of profiteering, intentionally damaging, and facilitating the acquisition of public funds. The accused include former Housing Minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi, former board manager of the state-run Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper Mohamed Ahdy Fadly, Emirati businessman Waheed Metwalli Youssef, and Egyptian businessman Yassin Mansour. Mahmoud took the same action with former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid , former director of the Industrial Development Authority Amr Asal, steel magnate and the former senior NDP official Ahmed Ezz, who all face the same charges in a different case. Several reports had been filed at the general prosecutor's office, the last of which was on 3 February, resulting in investigations that exposed Maghrabi's involvement in signing a contract selling 113 state-owned feddans in 6th of October City to Akhbar Al-Youm in violation of the law. Related reports of corruption allegations have also been filed at Mahmoud's office against former ministers, businessmen and top regime officials since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February, which was the result of wide-scale pro-democracy protests. Authorities have frozen the assets of several former administration officials and have imposed travel bans on many. Translated from the Arabic Edition
