CAIRO - (Updated) A Cairo court Tuesday upheld a decision by Egypt's Chief Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud to freeze the assets of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and all members of his family. Acting on a number of lawsuit requests, Mahmoud demanded a freeze on the properties, assets, bank accounts and government bonds held by the former leader. The bombshell exploded when the Mubaraks' trial had no lawyers to speak for them after Mohamed Hamouda said he would not continue his defence for the former first family. A minute later, Samir el-Sheshtawi, a lawed, alleged he was asked by the former president to defend him. However, the court then found out that he had no proxies from the Mubaraks. The court then upheld the decision of the Chief Prosecutor to freeze the Mubaraks' assets as a preventive measure until investigations are complete. Egypt has also slapped a travel ban on Mubarak, his wife and two sons while allegations of corruption are investigated. Mubarak is believed to have amassed a huge fortune during his nearly 30 years in power. His wealth is estimated at over 40 billion dollars and includes properties in London, New York and Los Angeles. Mubarak's alleged wealth didn't match his monthly presidential salary, which was estimated at LE24,000 (roughly $4,200) per month without benefits. Another court circuit delayed until today a request from the Justice Ministry's department of illegal earnings to allow the disclosure of secret accounts belonging to Mubarak's wife Suzanne Mubarak over a secret account allocated for Bibliotica Alexandrina. Activists, spearheaded by former MP Moustafa Bakri, previously filed a complaint to prosecutors claiming that Mubarak, his wife and two sons possessed secret bank accounts. They said the disclosure of these accounts was essential to hold the family accountable for potential graft charges.
