Judge Assem El-Gohary, assistant minister of justice and head of the Illicit Gains Authority, has ordered the release of Suzanne Mubarak (nee Thabet).

El-Gohary announced in a statment today that the decision was given after Thabet’s lawyer submitted documents proving that her Heliopolis villa is owned by a sovereign body and that the bank accounts under investigation were donated in her name as Egypt's first lady to be spent on charity projects.

She could yet be recalled to provide further evidence, however, should ongoing investigations into corruption by the Mubarak regime yield new allegations.

The wife of Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak has also signed over power of attorney to El-Gohary on her bank accounts. Under the agreement, an estimated total of LE24 million held with the National Bank and National Societe Generale Bank will be transfered to the Ministry of Finance, in the name of the Egyptian people.

The authority, often derided a toothless tool of the government to settle scores, ordered Thabet's detention last Friday for 15 days pending investigations into her wealth.