Egypt's former top auditor, Hisham Geneina, was released from detention where he was facing trial for spreading false news, after his family paid bail, his lawyers said Friday.

 

Geneina initially refused to pay bail because he does not believe he committed a crime, his lawyer Ali Taha had earlier said.

 

But after one of his daughters was rushed to hospital over news of her father's detention, his family moved to pay a bail of EGP 10,000 (approx. $1,128), Taha said, adding that his client has been released.

 

Geneina was summoned for questioning last month over accusations of spreading false news. The charges stem from his statements last December that corruption costs the country EGP 600 billion (approx. $67.6 billion) over a four-year period.

 

He is due to stand trial on 7 June.

 

In March, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi dismissed Geneina from his position as head of the Central Auditing Organization after a committe investigating his report concluded that Geneina had misled the public.