Former head of the Central Auditing Organisation (CAO) Hisham Geneina won a lawsuit against long-time rival and former minister of justice Ahmed Al-Zind. An appeals court ruled Wednesday against fining Geneina and other auditors nearly EGP 680,000, state-owned media Al-Ahram reported.
Al-Zind filed a lawsuit against Geneina, accusing him of insulting judges and prosecution members by claiming that several judges had illegally acquired state land. He had also led a similar battle against journalists who published details of the corruption claim.
In September 2014, Al-Ahram published a report claiming that Al-Zind used his position as head of the Judges Club to sell state-owned land to his relatives for lower than market price. Geneina and other judges had objected to the deal, resulting in Al-Zind’s legal motion against them.
The disputes between Al-Zind and Geneina are deep-rooted and go back to the Hosni Mubarak era, when the former CAO head was among a pro-reform group of judges called the “Independence Current” and Al-Zind was considered pro-regime. Both officials were dismissed from their positions in separate incidents by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in March.
Al-Zind became infamous due to his feuds with judges and influential media figures during his tenure as minister and head of the Judges Club. He was dismissed over controversial statements he made about the prophet during an interview broadcast on the privately-owned channel Sada El-Balad.
Geneina was dismissed after a presidential committee denied the financial figures of state corruption proffered by the head of the CAO in an interview. He was sentenced to one year in jail for providing false information to the public.
