International

Ex-Egyptian minister for Agric jailed 10yrs for corruption

Published

8 years ago

April 11, 2016

Ex-Egyptian minister for Agric jailed 10yrs for corruption

Salah El Din Mahmoud Helal, Egypt’s former agriculture minister and his office manager have both been handed 10 year prison sentences each for corruption by a Cairo Criminal court.

The court also handed the pair huge fines after they were both convicted for taking bribes in return for land licenses. Helal was fined one million Egyptian pounds ($112,613.88) while his office manager, Mohieldine Qadah, 500,000 Egyptian pounds.

Both convicts, who were standing in a steel cage for defendants in the courtroom in a white prison uniform, did not react to the verdict while their lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, said they would appeal the court ruling.

Helal was arrested minutes after his resignation in September on suspicion of taking bribes from a businessman in return for land licenses.

According to information made available, Helal and his office manager had allegedly accepted bribes including a luxury home, membership of an exclusive sports club, clothing from high-end fashion stores, and mobile phones.

The businessman confessed to bribing the pair, and an intermediary charged with facilitating the deal has also said he was guilty.

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