Court orders case against Mubarak to be resumed

Mubarak duirng a court hearing in Cairo in May 2014 Keystone

The office of the Swiss Attorney General has been ordered to resume a legal inquiry into the family of the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, suspected of belonging to a criminal organisation.

As a result, some CHF590 million ($613 million) in assets of the Mubarak family, frozen in Swiss bank accounts since 2011, will remain blocked.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the state prosecutor had not respected the formal procedure when it decided to close the case in June 2015 following four years of investigations.

It said the Swiss authorities failed to hear the arguments of the Egyptian government representatives.

Judges ordered the attorney general’s office to review access to the legal documents.

As part of a long-standing legal controversy, Switzerland is still investigating claims of money laundering against the Mubarak clan.

In January, the Federal Proscecutor, Michael Lauber, held talks in Cairo with Egyptian justice authorities.

Mubarak was forced to stand down in February 2011 following civilian protests and months of public unrest.

Mubarak associate

In a related development, the Egyptian government has asked Switzerland, Spain and Hong Kong to unblock assets of a close associate of Mubarak.

Industry tycoon Hussein Salem apparently handed over most of his and his family’s wealth in exchange for dropping corruption cases against him.

The Egyptian prosecutor on Tuesday announced that funds totaling $600 million of Salem’s assets had been retrieved.

Salem was arrested in Spain five years ago and later released on bail. He is one the founders of a company that exported Egyptian natural gas to Israel. Corruption charges against him allege that the company sold gas below market prices.