An Egyptian businessman previously convicted in lower courts for issuing cheques without bank accounts, has been acquitted by the court of appeal in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, but will still be deported back to Egypt next March, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported Saturday. "Depending on the fact that Dubai courts are not specialised in hearing cases in which cheques for Egyptian banks were issued, business Nabil el-Bushi is free to go," the court said in its ruling. It added that all previous prison sentences against el-Bushi have been dropped. El-Bushi was given three, three-year prison sentences for issuing cheques with no bank accounts to an Egyptian businessman, who has said that he will appeal the ruling in Cairo. "The defendant will be deported to Cairo on March 5 according to Interpol's rules," the court said. El-Bushi was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail in Egypt for swindling a star-studded list of more than 85 people out of $60 million. A Cairo court found him guilty of stealing 350 million Egyptian pounds ($62 million) from Egyptian citizens via his Optima Security Brokerage firm. Bushi however, has been held in Dubai since February pending trial on other fraud charges. The swindler convinced investors to part with their cash by claiming to hold a senior position at the World Bank as well as being a consultant on Egypt's investment policy for the next 20 years, earning him the nickname "Egypt's Madoff." Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff was sentenced to jail last year after pleading guilty to a massive $50 billion pyramid scheme that seduced thousands of clients, including many celebrities. Bushi, whose accomplice Fekri Badreddine was jailed for three years, promised returns of up to 40 per cent on investments in the London and New York stock exchanges between 2002 and 2008.
