Cairo’s criminal court banned on Sunday Mubarak-era interior minister Habib El-Adly from travelling outside Egypt and ordered the freezing of his assets in the case known in the media as “corruption at the interior ministry.”

El-Adly, along with 12 other former ministry officials, are being tried in criminal court over charges of illicit gains.

The defendants are accused of using their influence to acquire illicit gains amounting to more than EGP 2.4 billion (close to $305 million) when El-Adly was minister of interior.

The court also froze the assets of El-Adly’s family and ordered the freezing of all other defendants’ assets.

The court adjourned the case to 28 April on Sunday's session.

Following the travel ban, renowned lawyer Farid El-Dib, who defends Al-Adly in this case, told reporters that "the travel ban ruling means that the court became an investigative party, which is legally not permissible."

In December 2015, a court ended a freeze on the assets and properties of El-Adly following his acquittal from charges of killing protestors.

El-Adly served as Mubarak's minister of interior from 1997 till the 2011 revolution. 

He is currently out of jail as he was released from detention in March after being acquitted on charges of using his political influence to acquire illicit gains amounting to EGP 181 million.

Last year, he was acquitted along with six of his aides and former president Hosni Mubarak on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the January 2011 uprising.

In a separate case, El-Adly also saw an initial 12-year sentence and EGP 15 million worth of fines dropped over charges of corruption and money laundering.