By AFP
PARIS: France will back an Egyptian request to freeze the assets of deposed president Hosni Mubarak and his family, Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Wednesday.
“Based on the United Nations convention on corruption, notably article 55, and in accordance with previous declarations, Michele Alliot-Marie has asked for this matter to be immediately transferred to the competent authorities so that a favorable response can be made,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We are also working with our European partners to respond best to the request from the Egyptian authorities,” spokesman Bernard Valero told journalists.
The ministry gave no indication of what assets the Mubarak family might have in France.
Egypt’s prosecutor general on Monday requested a freeze on the foreign assets of Mubarak and his family, 10 days after the longtime president resigned in the face of a popular uprising.
Abdel-Megid Mahmoud tasked Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit with contacting foreign countries to seek a freeze on assets held by Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, sons Alaa and Gamal and their wives Heidi Rasekh and Khadiga Al-Gammal.
Switzerland, which froze Mubarak’s assets within hours of his resignation on Feb. 11, said on Sunday that the former president had “tens of millions of francs” in Swiss financial institutions.
