CAIRO: Egypt's anti-monopoly authority must wait for an official decree from Egypt's ruling military council before it can apply amendments to the laws of competition approved by the Council of Ministers, according to Sameh Torgoman, head of the authority. Torgoman added that if the military council does not issue the necessary decree, the authority will prepare to present amendments to the current law to Egypt's new parliament. Parliamentary elections are slated to end in March 2012. One of the most important amendments allows the authority to present cases directly to Egypt's public prosecutor as opposed to sending cases via the ministry involved with the case, said Torgoman. This comes as authorities investigate 23 cases, including 16 reports from citizens and seven studies on different sectors. The authority has completed investigations in the dairy, glass and film sectors and has proven the existence of monopolistic practices in each. The results of the investigations were sent to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry in March to be transferred to the public prosecutor, but the ministry has not yet taken action.
