Former Egyptian trade minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid , former Industrial Development Authority director Amr Assal, and steel magnate and former National Democratic Party official Ahmed Ezz are set to stand trial on 8 March, the Cairo Court of Appeals announced on Monday. Judicial sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the three defendants would be tried before the Cairo Criminal Court on charges of profiteering and facilitating the illegal acquisition of public funds. Last week, Egypt's attorney-general banned the three former government officials from travel and froze their financial assets before referring them to the relevant authorities for investigation. Following the decision, Rachid said he was prepared to face any accusations leveled against him. State prosecutors have accused Rachid and Assal of unfairly providing Ezz, chairman of Egyptian steel production company Ezz Steel, with production licenses. The two men are also accused of providing Ezz Steel with a free license to produce iron sponge and pallet without accepting bids from any other steel companies, as is required by law. Prosecutors further charged Assal with squandering some LE660 million worth of public funds by providing Ezz with a license to build two factories in the Suez Public Free Zone. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
