Taxes Authority To Probe OCI’s EGP 14 Bln Tax Fraud

The Egyptian Tax Authority has decided to call the Egyptian tycoon Onsi Sawiris and his son Nassif Sawiris to start interrogations regarding Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) – (OCIC.CA)’s evading to pay EGP 14 billion tax dues to the state.

Egyptian Tax Authority sources said the authority is working on finalizing a number of reports on 5 firms which Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has announced on Saturday their evading to pay around EGP 100 billion taxes to the state.

President Morsi stated Saturday that Egypt is owed about EGP 100 billion by five companies adding that the state is in talks with these entities to have its dues. The President clarified that some of these dues arose from financial irregularities or tax evasions.

The sources added that the selling deal of OCI’s Orascom Building Materials Holding to French Lafarge in 2008 has been reviewed. The sources referred that the OCI’s selling deal has violated the law leading to tax fraud.

It is worth mentioning that OCI sold in 2007 its entire stake in Orascom Building Materials Holding (OBMH) to French Lafarge at $ 12.9 billion.

The tax sources further added that OCI had founded Orascom Building and had listed it in the EGX for a short while, transferring to it the Lafarge deal valued at EGP 71 billion.

On the other hand, OCI noted on Monday that the capital gains from selling its entire stakes in the EGX-listed Orascom Building Materials Holding to Lafarge are tax exempt.