CAIRO: The Cairo Economic Court sentenced Egyptian businessmen Nabil El-Boushi in absentia Wednesday to 15 years in prison for fraudulently investing more than LE 350 million of his clients' money. The court ordered El-Boushi to pay back the total sum as well as a fine of LE 10 million. His partner Fikry Badreldin, chairman of Optima Egypt, who was present at the trial, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined LE 100,000. Dubbed the "Egyptian Madoff, El-Boushi used his position on the board of Optima Global for Securities and Brokerages to take millions from a list of clients in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates that included public figures and celebrities, promising to invest the money in the London and New York stock exchanges. Eighty-six victims were promised a near impossible 40 percent monthly return on investment from El-Boushi. They came forward and began filing complaints against him in February after he was arrested for bounced checks in the UAE. He claimed to hold a senior position at the World Bank and also said he was a veteran consultant on Egypt's investment policy. The court referred the victims' civil suites to specialized courts. "The verdict is fair to the victims. The court has given him the harshest punishment allowed for financial and investment crimes, in addition he [El-Boushi] will pay a fine and give victims their money back, Samir Sabry, the plaintiffs' lawyer, told Daily News Egypt. El-Boushi is currently in the UAE facing charges from an Egyptian businessman there. "He is facing only one charge for $12 million, if he resolves the case and pays the plaintiffs, the Interpol will bring him back to Egypt to serve his sentence, said Sabry, otherwise he will serve the sentence in the UAE before coming to Egypt. El-Boushi's lawyer was not available for comment at press time. However, he previously refuted fraud charges, claiming that El-Boushi had invested that money in the stock market on behalf of clients and it was all lost when global stock markets crashed. The state-run Al-Ahram daily newspaper had reported that El-Boushi's funds in Egypt have been transferred mostly to Canadian banks, and said the assets of his two wives and children have been frozen. - With agencies
