Assem al-Gohary, head of the Illicit Gains Authority (IGA), a judiciary office affiliated with the Ministry of Justice and assigned by the SCAF to restore Egypt’s looted funds from abroad, said that Egypt has developed an integrated plan to restore all looted money, even that held in secret accounts or by international companies with fake names.
“We will get each penny that was illegally smuggled out of the country”, he said.
“We need secrecy and time to carry out procedures, though there might be space for the disclosure of some details in press statements,” said Gohary in an interview with Al-Masy Al-Youm.
He added that media reports and popular rumors about the value of the missing funds are inaccurate.
“The only number we could reach was CHF410 million (Swiss Francs), i.e. LE1 billion, owned by 17 former officials in Switzerland, including toppled president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons,” Gohary said.
He claimed the existence of more funds owned by former officials in other countries but said that the authority has not yet ascertained their value or proprietors.
“Lawyers for these defendants are trying hard to convince officials in Europe that the charges against their clients are unfair as they come under the pressure of public opinion,” he said.
According to Gohary, funds can be recovered by producing evidence and documents that prove defendants' involvement in acquiring public money or making suspicious transactions. The second method for recovering funds is more complicated and requires investigators to track transfers, he said, declining to give further details.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
