Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday acquitted former Information Minister Anas al-Fiqqi of charges of amassing illicit gain worth LE33.4 million between 2002 and 2011.
The verdict in Fiqqi’s retrial comes after the Court of Cassation had turned down an earlier ruling sentencing him to one year in prison and a fine of LE1.8 million.
The Justice Ministry’s Illicit Gain Authority (IGA) had referred Fiqqi, former President Hosni Mubarak’s last information minister, to trial over charges of abusing his vocation to amass wealth that exceeded that available from his his legal sources of income. The charges were related to his stints as a senior Culture Ministry official, a minister of youth and sports and as an information minister.
According to the charges petition, Fiqqi concealed proceeds from a cultural organization he jointly owned with his wife and revenues from his stock market transactions. He also covered up an account at Credit Suisse Bank in Switzerland.
He also faced accusations of abusing his post to obtain an apartment in Alexandria for a low rate and an inordinately lengthy installment period. He also used his position to obtain a plot of land in New Cairo in violation of the housing authority's rules.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
