CAIRO: Investigations carried out by the Ministry of Interior revealed that Egyptian tycoon Nabil Mahmoud El-Boushi had no money in his bank accounts. Reports also say he used Egyptian investors' money to pay clients in Dubai. The interior ministry's Public Funds Investigations department told Al-Masry Al-Youm that funds from El-Boushi's accounts in Egypt were all transferred abroad, mostly to Canadian banks. Further investigations found that El-Boushi transferred up to $13 million worth of Egyptian investors' money to his Dubai-based stock brokerage, Optima Securities Brokerage, to pay off suspicious investors in the UAE threatening to file lawsuits against him. In Dubai, El-Boushi's checks are bouncing. Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported that El-Boushi gave an Emirati woman a dud check of $1 million and an Egyptian living in Dubia a similar check worth $12.5 million. El-Boushi is currently facing allegations of financial fraud for pilfering up to $68,422 million and ?200,000 from his clients. A list of 48 Egyptians, some of whom are famous actors and top businessmen, filed complaints against El-Boushi accusing him of fraud. The list of the Egyptian victims includes public figures such as actors Hussein Fahmi, Mervat Amin, Leila Elwi and former football star, Mahmoud Al-Khatib, currently vice-president of Al Ahly Club. Fahmi and Amin lost around $2 million while Elwi lost up to $500, 000, according to a report by Deutsche Presse Agentur. Fingers pointed to Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza for being linked to the investment company, rumors which the minister was quick to quell, saying that he resigned from his non-executive position on Optima's board of directors years ago. On Thursday, Dubai police announced that they are going to place the Egyptian billionaire under the custody of Dubai's judicial authorities. "We are going to refer the extradition request to the UAE's judicial authorities and Dubai Public Prosecution, which will decide on whether he should be handed over to Egypt, that is, if he is not wanted in other cases in UAE, said Major-General Khamis Matter Al Mazeina Dubai-based Khaleej Times newspaper. El-Boushi was arrested Monday before boarding a flight to London. He had promised clients up to a 40 percent return on investments made in the London Stock Exchange. Interpol made a request last Tuesday for El-Boushi to be handed over to Egyptian authorities. His lawyer, Maher Milad Eskandar, said that his client had invested the complainants' money in the stock market and that it was all lost now due to the stock market crashing. El-Boushi has been dubbed by some papers as the "Egyptian Madoff, a reference to Bernard Madoff, an American businessman and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who this past December was charged with perpetrating what may be the largest Ponzi scheme ever, involving some $50 billion. He is under house arrest until his indictment, expected in mid-February.
