Mubarak-era Tycoon Ezz to be Released after Paying EGP100mn Bail

Egypt’s steel tycoon under former autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Ahmed Ezz, is expected to be released Wednesday after he paid EGP 100 million on bail over money laundering charges, judicial sources told Ahram Online.

His lawyer Farid El-Deeb also confirmed that his client, who stands trial in two separate cases over graft and steel monopoly, is expected to be released “within hours.”

“We have paid all the required bails…and we are now following the release procedures,” said El-Deeb who is also Mubarak’s lawyer, told Aswat Masriya on Wednesday.

Ezz has been previously ordered to be released on bail over separate allegations of profiteering and illegal acquisition of El-Dekhaila, a state-owned giant steel plant.

In July, a Cairo court ordered his release on bail of EGP 50 million over graft allegations.

In September 2013, Ezz’s release was ordered on a bail of EGP 100 million on charges of laundering funds related to El-Dekheila.

Over the last three years, Ezz has received cumulative sentences of 60 years in prison, but his appeals have all been accepted and he is currently facing retrials.

Ezz is the former chairman of Ezz Steel Co and has a 55 percent stake in EZDK, the largest steel complex in the Middle East.

Ezz was secretary-general of Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party prior to the 2011 revolution and was a close associate of the former president’s son Gamal Mubarak.

The NDP was dissolved shortly after the revolution that toppled Mubarak.

Source: Ahram Online