By Manar Mohsen
The Court of Cassation on Thursday revoked a jail sentence against former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and ordered a retrial over charges of illicit gains. A date has yet to be set for the retrial.
In September 2012, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Nazif to three years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of LE4.8 million on corruption charges.
The case was presented before the court after the Ministry of Interior’s Illicit Gains Authority accused Nazif of practicing nepotism, obtaining gifts from press organisations, and abusing his position to amass LE65 million in private assets that include property and shares in telecommunications and automobile companies.
The defence relied on Article 166 of the new constitution for its case, which states that a minister cannot be charged for a criminal act without the approval of the president, the public prosecutor, or two-thirds of the parliament.
The Illicit Gains Authority however had filed the case against Nazif before the ratification of the 2012 constitution.
Nazif served as prime minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak from 2004 to 2011. He resigned during the 2011 uprising and was arrested shortly afterward on corruption charges.
