Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has reportedly been accused of helping his friend Hussein Salem to obtain state land in Sharm el-Sheikh and in Aswan and of giving him concessions to help his company, East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) sell natural gas to Israel at reduced prices.
Mubarak and his sons were detained today for an investigation on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and killings of protesters.
One of the leaders of the movement that lead to Mubarak's ouster in February, Adv. Mohammad Al-Hazazi, told an Arabic online news site, "The accusations against Mubarak are, first of all political, and then criminal, because the political corruption is far more destructive than the financial corruption."
Al-Hazazi added, "What Mubarak did over the years was not to protect the Egyptian people, but to protect the borders of Israel and supply it with gas for running its war machine against the Arabs. He is therefore a collaborator."
Al-Hazazi said that Mubarak agreed to export natural gas to Israel at 15% below the global price.
Al-Hazazi added that there were all kinds of obstructions in the investigation and attempts to save Mubarak on the grounds that illness rendered it impossible to question him or put him on trial. Al-Hazazi promised that Mubarak would be put on trial.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 13, 2011
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