CAIRO: Deputy Justice Minister for Graft Affairs Assem El-Gohary imposed a travel ban on four former top officials, press reports said Thursday. The decision was issued against People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, former head of National Democratic Party (NDP) and Shoura Council speaker Safwat El-Sherif, ex-chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmy and former housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman. The anti-graft authority had earlier ordered the disclosure of the four officials' bank accounts after investigations indicated the illegal growth of their fortunes. In addition, the wives and children of the ex-officials were also denied the right to leave the country until investigations are complete. “This move is overdue and marked by confusion as it seems to have been taken randomly not systematically,” said Nasser Amin, director of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary. “Following the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak [on Feb. 11], we made certain demands including the interrogation of former officials over corruption charges,” Amin told Daily News Egypt. According to Amin, the measures currently taken do not facilitate a smooth transition from dictatorship to democracy. “Rather, such procedures only attempt to appease the public…which is very serious, raising doubts over credibility,” Amin argued. Amin suggested the formation of an independent judicial committee to investigate charges against former officials. “Nobody can guarantee the objectivity of the investigators handling these cases as they all belong to the former regime,” he said. Since Mubarak stepped down after an 18-day popular revolt, dozens of former ministers and senior officials were interrogated over charges of corruption and illicit gain, some have already been referred to criminal courts. Last month, Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud seized all the funds belonging to Mubarak and his family in Egypt and banned them from travel. The ruling army council on Tuesday also said in an official communiqué that the family has been placed under house arrest, where they are currently staying in Sharm El-Sheikh. The government has also asked the European Union and the United Kingdom to disclose the Mubaraks' secret accounts and freeze their assets. Interpol has issued a number of arrest warrants for Egyptian officials facing corruption charges, including former trade minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Palm Hills Developments chairman Yasseen Mansour. Egypt's Prosecutor General had also requested the extradition of former finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali through Interpol.
