The Public Funds Prosecution is investigating accusations made by Nour Abdel Samad, director of Egypt’s archaeological sites, that former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak and Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass misappropriated public funds using national artifacts.
Hawass had said during a talk show that a Tutankhamun exhibition collected US$17 million in donations for Suzanne Mubarak’s charity fund, which Samad said was illegal because the charity is privately owned.
Abdel Samad also accused Hawass of illegally signing a contract with the American Geographical Society to exhibit unique Egyptian artifacts in the United States and Australia.
The notification said artifacts from the Tutankhamun collection were sent to an exhibition in Minnesota, which runs until 15 April 2012, without documenting the number or types of the pieces.
It also said the Egyptian Museum sent 143 artifacts to Washington between 30 July and 14 October 2002, which have not yet been returned.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
