CBE, NBE File Defamation Lawsuits Against Al-Sabah Newspaper

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) have filed libel and defamation lawsuits against Al-Sabah newspaper.

CBE issued a statement today accusing the newspaper of organizing a smear campaign against CBE’s Governor Farouk El-Okdah, NBE’s chairman Tarek Amer and Banque Misr’s chairman Mohamed Barakat.

Al-Sabah newspaper has published false accusations about banking leaders so as to defame their reputations for personal interests, according to CBE’s statement.

CBE stated that the newspaper published false allegations against banking leaders after many state-owned banks received EGP 3.2 billion worth of debt owed by the owner of the newspaper Ahmed Bahgat for more than 20 years as he had long refused to repay them, for being supported by former regime’s figures.

State-owned banks received such dues after a verdict issued by the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration in favor of the banks as the court ordered transferring the ownership of some of Bahgat’s companies and hotels to the lenders, but he refused to implement the verdict, CBE added.

CBE called on national media, syndicate of journalists and citizens to be accurate in circulating news.