Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ordered the formation a committee, headed by former prime minister Ibrahim Mehleb, to recover the looted state land, according to the official gazette for state decrees on Thursday.
According to the decision, the committee will include the Minister of Local Development, the President’s Assistant for Security Affairs and Counter-Terrorism, and representatives from the ministries of justice, defence, finance and the general intelligence authority.
It also includes representatives from real estate registry and public funds, along with Mehleb, who currently holds the position of President’s Assistant for National and Strategic Projects.
According to Article 2 of the decree, the committee will be responsible for restoring land that was seized illegally. It is also responsible for determining the debt owed to the authorities responsible for the looted land, as well as the coordinating with them for the land recovery procedures.
The committee will also recover the state funds, in accordance with the laws governing each authority. The committee will moreover suggest solutions to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future, notifying the investigation authorities of all recorded violations.
The committee‘s final report and recommendations will finally be submitted to the president.
Ibrahim Mehleb was previously implicated in the “Presidential Palaces” case brought against former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons, Gamal and Alaa, in which they were convicted for embezzling EGP 125m in public funds allocated for the renovation of presidential palaces.
Mehleb was never charged, but was believed to have ties to the case due to his position as the head of the Arab Contractors Co, which was responsible for the renovations of the palaces at the time.
