Gamal Mubarak, son of Egypt’s former president said Tuesday that he and family members were innocent of corruption charges made in international courts after the 2011 Revolution.
His statement came in a video statement, his first public appearance since 2011, and following court rulings last month in Switzerland and the European Union in the family’s favour.
The statement said that the decade-long legal battle for the Mubarak family has come to an end following the recent ruling of the EU General Court which acknowledged once again that restrictive measures imposed on the family by the EU Council were unlawful from the outset and following the decision of the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office fully exonerating Alaa and Gamal Mubarak after their 11- year criminal investigation was concluded.
“In the name of my late father President Mubarak, on behalf of my family, and for the historical record, I want to underline some essential points regarding our legal proceedings before the EU courts and beyond. That is of particular historical significance given the consistent international media campaign of false allegations of corruption that was unleashed against my family almost 10 years ago,” Gamal Mubarak said.
He added that his family has decided that they simply cannot stay silent anymore in the face of such persistent defamatory reporting, adding that they will respond directly.
Since 2011, various investigative measures and sanctions have been initiated against members of the Mubarak family in the EU and beyond. Of particular significance were the wide-ranging restrictive measures imposed by the EU Council against the President and his family.
In February, a massive leak of Credit Suisse clients’ information showed Gamal Mubarak and his brother, Alaa, to have held at least $197.5m in the bank at one point in time.
“These proceedings, which lasted well over ten years, have just reached their conclusion. They have fully exonerated us and vindicated the position my family has held for over a decade, confirming specifically that the EU sanctions against us were always unlawful,” he stressed.
“When President Mubarak decided to step down in February 2011, he declared his readiness to confront and comprehensively answer any criminal allegations against him and his family. He declined to accept immunity of any kind and categorically refused any suggestions to leave Egypt.”
However, the Jan 25 Revolution in 2011 was built on calls for an end to deep-rooted embezzlement and government corruption in Egypt, and growing concerns that Gamal Mubarak would be set up to succeed his father, who was in power for nearly 30 years.
Gamal claimed that more than ten years ago, a ferocious campaign of false allegations of corruption was unleashed against President Mubarak and his family.
“That campaign continued unabated for over ten years while we were consumed with fighting our legal battles.”
He also claimed that the Egyptian authorities, who made a deliberate decision to pursue us in international jurisdictions. “Such relentless pursual was based on the false and outrageous pretext of funds allegedly‘pillaged’ or ‘siphoned’ by my family overseas. All domestic criminal proceedings initiated against us were submitted as evidence to the relevant international authorities. The aim was to recover funds that, it was alleged, had been illegally taken by my family.”
“Today, and after ten years of incredibly intrusive investigations, a litany of international mutual legal assistance requests among various judicial authorities and a multitude of judicial proceedings in several jurisdictions, it is proven that all the allegations levelled against my family were utterly false,” Gamal Mubarak stressed.
He added that there is not a single shred of evidence that my late father or my mother ever held any overseas assets of any kind.
“So, in conclusion, no illicit assets, no concealed assets, and no unexplained sources of assets have been attributed to any member of the Mubarak family by such authorities.”
Moreover, in the video Gamal went on to send an emotional message dedicated to the 30-year president Mubarak.
“My dear father,
Fate did not allow you to witness the end of all legal proceedings initiated against you since 2011, including the related measures adopted by the Council of the European Union,
I have assured you during your last days that I will stay the course to achieve unequivocal vindication for you and our family,
I promised you to stay the course with relentless determination to achieve such vindication before international judicial authorities,
After a long and arduous battle lasting well over 10 years,
Successive rulings and decisions have been issued in your name and in the name of our family by the highest judicial authorities in the European Union and beyond categorically exonerating us.
Throughout this battle, and even during its darkest times, you were always confident, against all odds, that we will eventually prevail, even if after you passed away,
And you have left us, dad,
But we have indeed prevailed, and in a court of law,
This was indeed your final battle in a long journey full of battles and hardships. A battle I continued on your behalf. A battle that you confronted with patience and valor after having spent your life serving the homeland, fighting for it, and defending its interests.
May you thus rest in peace,
And may God bless you with his mercy and forgiveness.”
