Companies owned by fugitive businessman Hussein Salem are appraising their assets and stocks to prepare for a possible reconciliation with the Egyptian government, Salem's lawyer, Tarek Abdel Aziz, told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Abdel Aziz said his client had received seven proposals from local evaluation firms registered with the Central Bank of Egypt about his domestic assets, adding that assets abroad would not be appraised.
Abdel Aziz said the results of the appraisals will not be sent to prosecutors or any other parties for negotiations over a settlement. He also denied that any agreement had been reached with the Egyptian government on the exact amount to be returned.
In addition, he said prosecutors have been studying an offer by Salem to waive half of his properties and assets in return for throwing out his criminal charges.
Hussein Salem, a close ally to deposed President Hosni Mubarak, fled to Spain in February 2011 following the January uprising that toppled Mubarak.
In June 2012, Salem, along with Mubarak, was acquitted of corruption charges related to Egypt’s natural gas export deal with Israel. He was, however, sentenced to 15 years in March of the same year over a corrupt land deal.
In December 2012, Spain’s Constitutional Court decided to cancel earlier verdicts to hand Salem over to Egypt, accepting his appeal.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
