The Giza Criminal Court on Wednesday scheduled for Thursday the hearing on the decision of the Illicit Gains Authority (IGA) to freeze the assets of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family. The family members are Mubarak's wife Susan Thabet, his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, their wives Heidi Rasekh and Khadiga al-Gamal, and two grandchildren, Omar and Farida. On Monday, the court postponed until 26 October the first hearing in the case because the family's lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, failed to show up, sending instead a representative who requested that the court adjourn the hearing until Wednesday. Mubarak and his sons have been charged with corruption, and all three are under arrest. Mubarak is also charged with complicity in the killing of about 850 protesters during the 18-day uprising that ousted him from office. Assem al-Gohary, head of the IGA, is also heading a committee formed to repatriate assets siphoned abroad by Mubarak and his family. On 29 September, the committee became a plaintiff in the case in which Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, former Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana and businessman Yasin Mansour are accused of creating a gang to launder money abroad. Last week Gohary said the committee had learned that Alaa and Gamal Mubarak have US$340 million (nearly LE2 billion) in Swiss banks, US$300 million of which belongs to Alaa. Switzerland has already frozen the assets of the Mubarak family and other figures from the former regime, which Gohary estimated at nearly US$450 million. The committee relayed the information to the IGA so it could take the necessary steps. The IGA froze the assets and asked the Court of Appeal to hold an urgent hearing to consider and support the decision. Translated from the Arabic Edition
