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The speaker of the dissolved parliament has been accused of covering up corruption of the recently resigned secretary general. Forty staff of the secretariat of the People’s Assembly accused Saad Al-Katatni of concealing the wrongdoing of Sami Mahran, according to state-run news agency MENA.
A communication from the Attorney General revealed the accusations against Al-Katatni, the speaker of the (dissolved) people’s assembly, MENA reported.
Mahran resigned from his position as secretary general of the people’s assembly on Wednesday. In September, Mahran was accused of embezzlement and abuse of authority.
Al-Katatni faced criticism for allowing Mahran to continue as the secretary general of the People’s Assembly, a post he had held under Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Al-Katatni sanctioned this despite protests in April 2011 calling for Mahran to step down. MENA reported that Al-Katatni appointed Mahran despite knowing of Mahran’s financial irregularities.
MENA also said that an undersecretary at the People’s Assembly, Ahmed Khater, said he had met with the speaker of the Shura Council, Ahmed Fahmy, two weeks ago and told him to dismiss Mahran.
Mahran’s resignation followed the laying of criminal charges against him. He was arrested in September for unlawfully owning a business worth EGP 22 million. He was released on bail of EGP 50,000 and banned from travel. His trial date is set for 4 November, according to MENA.
Fahmy issued a decree on Wednesday temporarily appointin Azza Sabih, secretary of the secretariat of foreign relations, to Mahran’s old position.
