A Cairo criminal court acquitted early Thursday former PM and ex-presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, as well Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, of embezzling public funds in the Pilots' Association for Land Development trial.

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's former aviation minister Shafiq headed the Pilots' Association for Land Development in 1992. He was accused by the general prosecution of having seized 40,000 metres of land belonging to fishing farms and illegally allocating them to the association before reselling them to Mubarak's sons at lower than market price.

The criminal court also acquitted former Air Force generals Nabil Shoukry and Mohamed Reda, both former association officials who faced charges in the same trial.

Shafiq, who was tried in absentia, currently resides in Dubai. He left Egypt after his defeat in the presidential election runoff to the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi in 2012. 

The former Air Force commander is facing another corruption trial, the verdict of which will be announced later Thursday. 

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak also face additional trials for corruption-related crimes.