A misdemeanor court in Heliopolis has sentenced businesswoman Hoda Abdel Moneim, known as the "Iron Lady," to three years in prison for stealing LE27,000. Abdel Moneim was acquitted on 8 other criminal charges.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Court of Cairo heard testimonies from prosecution witnesses in a separate case relating to Abdel Moneim, in which she was accused of obtaining a US$2.5 million loan through the use of fake papers. The trial was adjourned to 24 April, after which the court will resume hearing testimonies from witnesses.
Samir Ezzat, who worked as an attorney for the Egyptian Real Estate Bank at the time of the incident, said the accused presented a fake real-estate license to secure a bank loan. The fake copy went unnoticed, he added, as banks are not required to examine original copies of documents before granting loans.
Other witnesses testified that they notified the Public Funds Prosecution of Abdel Moneim’s suspicious financial dealings in February 1998.
The accused was brought to the courtroom from her prison cell at 10 AM and remained silent throughout the court session, speaking only briefly to her defense team.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
