Officially accused of taking bribes, former MP El-Fakharany has made a name for himself in Egypt as a fighter of corruption clashing with large corporations and business tycoons
Former MP Hamdi El-Fakharany, known in Egypt for his anti-corruption activities, was arrested on Sunday evening and is being investigated on charges of bribery, Egypt's interior ministry has announced.
In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the interior ministry said that a businessman and his lawyer reported El-Fakharany to the ministry’s public funds investigations department for allegedly demanding a LE 3.5 million bribe in return for dropping his lawsuit against the businessman.
El-Fakharany is suing the businessman to claim back land in the governorate of Minya which the latter bought from Nile Cotton Ginning Company.
Nile Cotton Ginning Compay, privatized in 1997, was renationalized by court order after a lawsuit brought to court by El-Fakharany himself in 2011.
The order for renationalization was upheld in 2013 and 2015 by an administrative court.
According to the ministry of interior, the meeting between El-Fakharany and the businessman and his lawyer was recorded and presented as evidence in the Sheikh Ziyad area in Giza.
The renowned corruption activist is being investigated by the prosecution, who have imposed a gag order on the media regarding the case.
ِFormer MP Hamdi El-Fakharany's fame is a result of high-profile corruption-related lawsuits against companies and businessmen over the past ten years including Talaat Mostafa group, Palm Hills group and Gold producer Centamin.
El-Fakharany was arrested in March 2013, accused of inciting violence in the Delta city of Mahalla, but he was released.
Despite announcing he will not run in the upcoming parliamentary elections, El-Fakharany is leading a campaign against religious parties in parliament.
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