CAIRO: Two Egyptian officials were arrested Thursday on charges of taking bribes from building firms seeking contracts in a multi-million-dollar restoration project in Cairo, a judicial source said.
Ayman Abdel Moneim and Hussein Ahmed Hussein, both from the culture ministry, were being questioned about the charges against them, but no details were given on the companies or on the amounts of money that allegedly changed hands.
For around six years, Abdel Moneim has been supervising the restoration of Cairo s old Islamic quarter, which Unesco included in its list of world patrimony sites in 1979.
The project involves the restoration of some 150 mosques, caravansaries, fortifications and other sites.
Abdel Moneim was also responsible for the cultural development fund, which managed the budget for numerous cultural activities in the Egyptian capital, including its international cinema festival.
