CAIRO: The two sons of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak held $340 million in now frozen assets in Swiss bank accounts, deputy justice minister Assem Al-Gohari said on Monday. The lion's share — $300 million — was held by Mubarak's elder son Alaa, a businessman who kept out of politics, said Al-Gohari, who heads the Illicit Gains Authority. The balance was held by his younger son Gamal, a leading former ruling party politician who had widely been seen as his father's heir apparent. Both sons are in custody in a Cairo prison as they stand trial on an array of charges, including corruption. The assets of Mubarak's two sons make up the great majority of the $460 million in Egyptian funds frozen by the Swiss government since the veteran strongman's overthrow in February, the official MENA news agency quoted Gohari as saying. Switzerland vowed last Wednesday to expedite the return of funds once held by members of the Mubarak regime and that of ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "Switzerland is the seventh financial center in the world. It is the first in terms of restitution of funds stolen by dictators," said the foreign ministry's head of the international public law department Valentin, Zellweger, quoted by the ATS news agency. Rumors circulated during the Jan. 25 uprising Mubarak and his sons amassed tens of billions of dollars in corrupt practices, helping drive the anger that brought him down. Egypt's attorney general froze the assets of the former presidential family on Feb. 20, in the aftermath of 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak. Mubarak's youngest son and one-time heir apparent Gamal, 47, rose rapidly through the ranks of his father's ruling National Democratic Party over the past decade to become the country's most powerful politician. He was surrounded by mega-rich businessmen who sought political careers to promote their business interests. The wealth of 49-year-old Alaa has been the subject of much speculation well before the political rise of his younger brother. There are allegations that he used his status to muscle in on profitable enterprises, taking a cut of profits without contributing to the funds invested or work done. Al-Gohary also said that the wealth of Mubarak's top associate, tycoon Hussein Salem, and his family exceeded $4 billion. He added that Salem and his family have transferred funds overseas in the past six months. "They transferred assets into cash and deposited it in secret accounts in banks in islands overseas, Hong Kong, and United Arab Emirates," Al-Gohary said in a statement. The 77-year-old Salem is co-defendant in the Mubarak corruption trial and faces charges in relation to lucrative land and other deals, including exporting gas to Israel. He is also under arrest. Mubarak and his sons are accused of accepting five villas worth nearly $7 million in Sharm el-Sheikh from a co-defendant Hussein Salem; in return, Mubarak used his influence with the governor of South Sinai, where Sharm El-Sheikh is located, to ensure Salem could buy prime real estate in the town at a vastly reduced price to build a resort complex. Salem along with his son were arrested in a wealthy Madrid suburb in June and Spain said it has frozen €33 million ($47 million) in accounts held by Salem and his relatives. Upon his arrest, Salem, one of the most secretive businessmen in Egypt, appeared before two judges: one handling the Spanish money laundering probe and another dealing with the international warrant under which Salem was arrested at the request of Egypt.
