File photo: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's sons Alaa (L) and Gamal, who is also the head of the higher political committee of the National Democratic Party (NDP), visit late former President Anwar al-Sadat's tomb in Cairo during his 25th death anniversary in this October 6, 2006 (Photo: Reuters)
Leading Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes has played down its relations to the family of the country's ousted president following this week's news that two of its chief executives will join Gamal and Alaa Mubarak in the dock on fresh corruption charges.
In a statement on Wednesday, the firm said that neither the ex-president, nor anyone in the Mubarak family, holds shares in EFG-Hermes Holding or its 50 subsidiaries -- with the exceptions of Hosni Mubarak's two sons and a daughter-in-law.
Gamal and Alaa Mubarak are currently on trial, alongside their father, on previous corruption charges. The verdict on the case is due to be announced on
Saturday, 2 June.
The investment bank said that Mubarak's younger son, Gamal, acquired in 1997 an 18 per cent stake in EFG-Hermes Private Equity -- a small subsidiary of EFG Hermes Holding – which was disclosed in Egypt and international markets.
EFG-Hermes Private Equity accounts for just 7 per cent of EFG Hermes Holding’s total consolidated revenues, the firm said.
Gamal's stake brought him an annual $800,000 (LE2.6 billion -- using the historic exchange rate) in dividends which were paid by the subsidiary.
The statement added that EFG-Hermes Private Equity’s financials and dividend payments were audited and monitored locally and internationally ever since the subsidiary’s establishment.
The firm failed to specifiy whether Gamal Mubarak still holds this stake.
Another exception stated by the firm was Mubarak's elder son Alaa and his wife Heidy Rassekh.
EFG-Hermes said the two had securities accounts used to trade shares on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). The accounts were opened in 2006 with a deposit worth nearly LE24.5 million coming via official transfers from an Egyptian bank, the firm added.
These accounts were maintained by one the firm’s securities brokerage arms and are clearly listed as being in Alaa Mubarak and Heidy Rassekh's names.
Combined average return on investment for both accounts was approximately 13.5 per cent each year.
Earlier on Wednesday, state TV reported that Gamal and Alaa Mubarak were being charged with EFG-Hermes joint chiefs, Hassan Heikal and Yasser El-Mallawany, for corrupt stock exchange dealings.
Founded in 1984, EFG-Hermes Holding is the leading investment bank in Egypt and the Arab world.
The firm's Egyptian activities generate around 35 per cent of its total consolidated revenues.
EFG-Hermes says its leading shareholders include top local, regional and global institutions and investment funds, as well as the sovereign wealth funds of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi governments.
Shares in the firm are traded on both the Egyptian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
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