Alexandria official detained over graft
Deputy governor Al Kholy stands accused of taking bribes, making illegal gains and misusing public money
Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of the deputy governor of the coastal city of Alexandria, Soad Al Kholy, for 15 days pending further investigations into corruption charges, state television reported Tuesday night in the latest crackdown in a vigorous antigraft drive in the country.
Five other suspects in the case have been given the same detention duration, the broadcaster added.
Al Kholy, 62, was arrested at her office on Sunday on suspicion of taking bribes, misusing public money and making illegal gains.
The Administrative Oversight Authority, an anti-graft state agency, said investigations revealed that Al Kholy had received more than 1 million Egyptian pounds (Dh208,300) in bribes from some businessmen in order to block the removal of their illegally constructed properties on state-owned land in the city and help them avoid paying fines for these violations.
Al Kholy, who has been in the post since 2015, is accused of wasting 10 million pounds in state money as a result of the alleged complicity with the businessmen, who are now in police custody.
Denial
Al Kholy denied the accusations, calling them “malicious rumours” in a post on a Facebook page attributed to her.
“I’ll take my right from everyone, who has mentioned my name in malicious rumours, which we all know target achievements of the revolution,” she said in the purported post without elaborating.
President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi has vowed a relentless fight against corruption since he took office in 2014. Several state officials have since been arrested in separate cases.
Minister’s sentence upheld
In April this year, Egypt’s top appeals court upheld a 10year jail ruling against ex-agriculture minister, Salah Helal, who was convicted of taking bribes when he was in office.
Last December, anti-graft authorities arrested a head of the purchasing department at the judicial State Council on suspicions of bribery and illegal profiteering.
At the time, media reports said that a cache of 24 million pounds and $4 million were found in the house of the prime defendant identified as Jamal Al Laban. He is being tried along with three other co-defendants in the high-profile case.