CAIRO - Egypt's toppled President Hosni Mubarak and key officials in the former regime will be subpoenaed for questioning on charges of corruption, squandering public money and making ill-gotten gains, as soon as watchdogs submit their supervisory reports, the Chief Prosecutor has said. "Mubarak and former key officials will be questioned by prosecutors upon receiving reports from local watchdogs on the accusations filed against them," Chief Prosecutor Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud told reporters Saturday. Mahmoud denied that the prosecution has been subject to pressures from any local or foreign authority while investigating the corruption of the former regime. "The Public Prosecution is a completely independent body, whose members only answer to their conscience. They work freely," said Mahmoud. He added that no-one will get away with his crimes against the Egyptian people, stressing that 20 branches of the prosecution were probing charges against former officials. Mubarak, his family, former Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Sorour, former Chairman of the Shura Council Safwat el-Sherif and chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmi have all been accused of making ill-gotten gains. "They will all be questioned," stressed Mahmoud. For now, Mubarak and his family remain under house arrest in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He and all his key aides are facing corruption charges. They are banned from travelling abroad and have had their assets frozen. The news about Mubarak comes amid criticism of the armed forces as they begin to prepare for national elections later this year and a planned transition towards democratic, civilian government.
