A Cairo criminal court sentenced on Monday an assistant head of Cairo’s Bulaq district and another employee to five years in prison for fraud and forgery.

The recent ruling reduces an earlier life imprisonment sentence — 25 years — given in absentia by the same court against the two defendants in June.

The sentence can still be appealed before the Court of Cassation.

The prosecution had earlier referred the defendants to court on the charge of forging vouchers related to cash provided to the district’s treasury.

They deluded citizens into thinking that the district’s administration was offering housing units for ownership to Cairo residents.

Many citizens paid a deposit of EGP 25,000 to reserve some of these units, according to the prosecution.

Egypt is waging a national campaign that aims to eradicate corruption and hold corrupt officials accountable.

Over the past few years, the Administrative Control Authority, the state body responsible for enforcing laws and regulations within state bodies, announced the arrest of numerous officials, including district heads, on bribery charges.