The Minister of Trade and Industry Samir Sayyad banned the export of gold in all its forms from Sunday evening. The minister said in a press statement that the ban will remain in effect from 27 February to 30 June, explaining that it comes during a time of “exceptional circumstances” and is necessary “to preserve the wealth of the country until the current situation stabilizes.” Since the start of the 25 January uprising, fears have risen that individuals suspected of corruption or wanted for investigation have been smuggling money abroad in the form of gold. Mohamed Mahsoub, secretary-general of the popular Egyptian Front for Reclaiming the People's Wealth, said early last week that the group has documents in its possession proving that certain former officials had transferred large amounts of money to foreign banks, where they had also deposited quantities of gold and platinum ingots. He also said that one former Egyptian official had transferred some US$620 million from Barclay's bank in England to UBS bank in Switzerland and that the Egyptian Attorney General had asked Egypt's foreign ministry to monitor foreign bank accounts belonging to ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his immediate family. Egypt's Illicit Gains Authority previously requested that the relevant legal bodies investigate wealth accumulated by former government ministers, National Democratic Party officials, and former chief editors of state-run newspapers. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
