Mubarak only attempts to retain his overseas assets by apologising to Egypt: legal expert
The president of the Egyptian group to recuperate stolen funds abroad lambasts Mubarak’s expected apology to the nation, calling it a mere attempt to retain his assets abroad while millions of Egyptians go without
The president of the Egyptian Group to Recuperate the People's Wealth Abroad, Hossam Eissa, scoffs at ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s imminent apology to the nation, describing his anticipated speech as a deplorable “attempt to botch up the revolution.”
According to Al-Shorouk newspaper the speech is currently being prepared and will be aired on several Egyptian and Arab channels. Mubarak will apologise for his or his family’s wrongdoings against the Egyptian people, which he is expected to blame on bad advice and misinformation given by his consultants.
When asked about how a public apology would affect Mubarak’s prosecution, Eissa (PhD) warned that an out-of-court settlement with the deposed commander-in-chief would leave no chance to detect and retrieve his yet unknown assets abroad.
Eissa told Ahram Online: “First of all, I cannot understand at all how a detainee who is being interrogated decides to address the nation! If so, then the likes of Ahmed Ezz, Fathi Sorour and the rest of the Battle of the Camel culprits should say ‘sorry’ and just walk away unpunished!
“This man’s salary was only LE 26 thousand, how did he purchase the Oruba [presidential] palace?! Should we accept his apology, this will annul our right to recover his wealth outside Egypt - and that’s what he wants. It’s an attempt to botch up the revolution.”
Mubarak and both of his sons, Alaa and Gamal – all remanded in police custody pending investigations – are indicted on charges of persistently abusing their political power to accrue illegal profits for many years. Numerous former ministers and regime officials – Mubarak among them - face accusations of corruption and of hiring thugs to violently disperse the peaceful demonstrations at the beginning of Egypt’s January 25 Revolution in the infamous “Battle of the Camel.” Mubarak’s younger son, Gamal, is similarly believed to have incited police forces to use live rounds on the demonstrators.
“Mubarak is responsible for the killing of the protesters. According to the investigations he was the one behind these murders. Even if he didn’t give a direct order to take their lives, the killing of citizens went on for days and he did nothing [to protect them] and that makes him an accomplice,” Eissa explained.
“And what exactly will he apologise for? Is it his 30-year rule, the street children, the 40 per cent under the poverty line or the widespread illness? What crime will he exactly apologise for?!” The horrendous deeds he committed are a huge betrayal. How can we accept an apology from him?!” he added.
Speaking on Suzanne Mubarak’s decision to hand over to authorities a villa in the upmarket neighbourhood of Helioplis as well as two bank accounts in the Ahly National Bank and Société Générale, Eissa commented: “These assets would have been taken from her, anyway. What’s her source of revenue? She does not have one. This woman has been forever stealing from public funds. She used to travel to Switzerland to take rejuvenation injections, and each costs 40,000 Swiss franc [$45,000].”
Mubarak’s wife, Suzanne Thabet, has just been released from Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital, where she was detained, like her husband, upon being formally accused of embezzlement of public funds. She reportedly suffered heart problems and a nervous breakdown and stayed in the hospital, however, she was found not guilty by the Illicit Profiteering Apparatus.
“We want them [the Mubaraks and other corrupt ex-officials] to be tried, so the country can retrieve all the stolen money. A political trial might be held later, but for the time being reverting funds should be our primary concern,” concluded Eissa, professor in the faculty of law, Ain Shams University, Cairo.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/12328.aspx