CAIRO: Cairo Criminal Court adjourned Saturday the trial of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak – the sons of former President Hosni Mubarak- and seven businessmen over manipulating the stock exchange to Dec.20 to listen to defense argument.
During today’s hearing, one of the court panel members was absent. The court listened to requests by the defense team, which said it is ready present their pleas whenever the court decides, Youm7 reported Saturday.
The defendants are accused of obtaining money unlawfully by selling the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to the National Bank of Kuwait, embezzling money from the public fund and damaging the Egyptian economy and national banking system through manipulating the stock exchange.
The prosecution accused the defendants of receiving 2.5 billion EGP ($349.5 million) in the bank sale in violation of capital market and Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) laws. The defendants were referred in May 2012 to criminal court to begin their trial over the aforementioned charges.
Tight security measures have been reported at the vicinity of the court and on roads leading to it; the trial was held at the Police Academy in New Cairo’s Tagammu el-Khames district. According to a judicial source, Alaa’s and Gamal’s presence at court Saturday is “compulsory.”
A criminal court ordered Monday to release both Alaa and Gamal in the case known as “Presidential palaces” after their appeal that they served the prison term while in remand was accepted. They were previously sentenced to four years in prison in the case, while their father was sentenced to three years.
The two sons, their father and the fugitive business tycoon Hussein Salem were charged of illegally profiteering villas in Sharm el-Sheikh.
In Nov. 2014, the judge ruled that the status of limitations had expired on the charges, and dropped them.