Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced Mubarak-era Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Rashid Mohamed Rashid and his daughter to 15 years in prison, state-owned Al-Ahram reported. Rashid and his daughter, who were referred to the criminal court in March, were facing charges of smuggling EGP 500m to Cyprus. The former minister was also accused of taking advantage of his position as a member of the now-defunct National Democratic Party (NDP) to acquire insider information about the Egyptian stock market and use it to his benefit. According to the Illicit Gains Authority, Rashid hid money from the financial disclosure he presented after he left office following the January 2011 revolution. The money was hidden by its transfer from Cyprus to London, which he did with the help of his daughter. Investigations also accuse Rashid of deliberately concealing his shares in 14 companies, and possession of property and land in Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh and Cairo in the financial disclosure. The Illicit Gains Authority issued an international arrest warrant, and put Rashid and his daughter on the internationally wanted fugitives list for running from justice, with the assistance of the Cairo office of the International Criminal Police, known as Interpol.
