The Central Bank denied on Tuesday a report that Central Bank Governor Farouk al-Oqda had been referred to the Illicit Gains Authority on charges of “selling Egypt’s debt.”
Reports were filed with the public prosecutor accusing Gamal Mubarak, the son of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, of manipulating Egypt’s debt and buying and selling promissory notes from 1986 to 1993. The reports allege that these actions were taken with Oqda’s knowledge.
The Central Bank released a statement pointing out that Oqda was not in Egypt during the time period in question and did not begin his term as Central Bank governor until December 2003, ten years after the alleged wrongdoing.
The statement emphasized that Oqda did not know anything about the incident and did not have any ties to Gamal Mubarak aside from having met him after he took office as Central Bank governor.
The bank called on websites and newspapers to ensure accuracy in what they publish in order to avoid confusion and further destabilization of the banking sector and the Egyptian economy.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
