CAIRO: Forty-seven MPs filed a report to Prosecutor General Mahmoud Abdel Meguid, demanding his intervention in a lawsuit against former Minister of Housing Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, accusing him of the misappropriation of public funds. The suit also claims that he distributed public land to his family and acquaintances. MP Alaa El Deen Abdel Moneim filed the report on Saturday, calling on the prosecutor general to take all necessary measures to protect public money. The report includes a detailed list of the pieces of land and houses, pinpointing the size and location, which the former minister allegedly "gave to members of his family. The majority of the land is allegedly located in Cairo's Fifth Settlement and Marina, a popular resort on the North Coast in Alexandria. In addition, he is said to have given key businessmen land for only 10 percent of its value, according to reports in the local press. The report was collectively filed by 47 MPs from various political parties, including Al-Tagammu, Al-Wafd, as well as independents. Of the 47 members, 35 are affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition bloc in the PA. During his tenure as minister, they claimed, the Ministry of Housing went through an unprecedented level of corruption; public money was squandered and state land was sold for pennies to a few businessmen who made billions out of it, Al-Masry Al-Youm daily reported. Hamdy Hassan, a Brotherhood MP from Alexandria, explained that it is their duty as representatives of the public to ask for their rights and protect Egyptians' money and property. This, he said, is the primary goal of all the MPs who joined forces and filed the report. An administrative monitoring authority affiliated with the Ministry of Justice had previously investigated complaints against the former minister but froze the inquest due to insufficient evidence. Soliman received an official document from the Minister of Justice, Mamdouh Marie, on Jan. 21, 2008 him of all charges filed against him since March 17, 2005.
