Spain to extradite Egyptian tycoon Hussein Salem to face jail sentence

Ahram Online, Friday 2 Mar 2012

Spain has agreed to extradite Hussein Salem, a business tycoon and Mubarak top ally who escaped a corruption trial in Egypt and now faces 15 years in jail

Hussein Salem
Hussein Salem

The Spanish government has reportedly agreed to extradite fugitive business tycoon Hussein Salem to Egypt, says an Egyptian foreign ministry official.

Omar Rushdy, the ministry's Plenipotentiary Minister reveals that the Spanish general prosecutor's office called the Egyptian ambassador in Madrid to notify him of the Spanish court's decision to send Salem and his son, Khaled back to Egypt.

The court apparently has not yet made a decision regarding Salem's daughter, who is also residing in Spain.

A business magnate who enjoyed close ties with the ousted ‎Mubarak regime, Salem, faces multiple charges of corruption and money ‎laundering in both countries. Salem has dual European/Egyptian citizenship. His son and daughter, who ‎were arrested in Spain last summer, are also accused of laundering some 2 billion Euros.‎ Egypt had requested Spain extradite the family to face trial.

Salem, who fled Egypt on 3 February at the height of last year’s ‎revolution, was arrested in his mansion in Majorca, Spain in June of ‎last year.‎

On Thursday, the Giza Criminal Court handed Salem a 15-year sentence for illegally acquiring public property.

Short link: