Interpol in Spain arrested on Wednesday the sons of Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem, who was also recently arrested in the country and is wanted in Egypt on corruption charges.
Salem's son and daughter, Khaled and Magda,were arrested following an Egyptian request related to allegations they are involved in a money laundering case.
The head of the Interpol's Cairo bureau, Brigadier General Magdy al-Shafie, received official notification that the pair was arrested in Madrid. Shafie coordinated with the Ministry of Interior's International Cooperation Department to submit documents required to extradite the arrested pair to Egypt.
Salem fled Egypt in February, following the outbreak of the revolution. He is accused of profiteering from the natural gas export deal signed between Egypt and Israel, in addition to facing other corruption charges. Interpol arrested Salem in Spain in mid-June.
Spain's ambassador to Cairo, Fidel Sendagorat, said on Wednesday that his country had agreed to commence legal procedures to consider transferring Salem in response to Egypt's extradition request.
In a press statement on Wednesday at the Egyptian Democratic Institute, Sendagorta said the move expressed Madrid's support for Egypt's democratic transition. However, he clarified that the decision does not constitute an extradition order, and is merely the beginning of procedures to consider Egypt's request.
At the top of those procedures, Sendagorta explained, is investigating the legality of Salem's Spanish citizenship. He added that Salem will be stripped of citizenship and deported to Egypt immediately if investigations find he acquired the citizenship illegally.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
