Lawsuit Filed To Ban Banks From Offering Loans With Interest

The former member of parliament Hamdy El Fakharany and the lawyer Wael Hamdy has filed a lawsuit in the State Council demanding the Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and Prime Minister Hesham Kandil to issue a decree preventing banks from imposing interest rates on loans.

The lawsuit states that offering loans with interest rates violates the second article of Egypt’s new constitution which states that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the principal source of legislation. As sharia bans usury, banks shall stop imposing interest rates on loans, in accordance with the article no. 76 which states that there shall be no crime or penalty except in accordance with the law or a constitutional article.