Egypt arrests top tourism official in a bribery case

Egyptian authorities have arrested Thursday the managing director of the country’s government tourism arm, the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) on charges of soliciting one million Egyptian pound-bribe.

The EGOTH official was arrested at Marriott Hotel in Zamalek district early Thursday after receiving a bribe over a construction deal involving a foreign company operating in the country, sources familiar with the matter revealed.

The Egyptian authorities followed an internal investigation to catch the EGOTH official in the act, the sources added.

EGOTH is a subsidiary of the Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema (HOTAC), one of the region’s largest hotel-owning companies that work with many leading hotel brands and owns a large inventory of land in prominent locations in Egypt for Tourism and establishing and developing Hotels .
EGOTH owns five historic hotels and nine contemporary hotels in prominent locations across Egypt, according to the company’s official website.