By Tamim Elyan
CAIRO: An Alexandria rights group filed a complaint to the General Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud Thursday demanding a halt on money transfers outside the country temporarily until stability is restored.
The complaint filed by the Alexandria-based Nassar Human Rights Center addressed money transfers by Egyptians and foreigners, especially those of prominent National Democratic Party (NDP) leaders.
“After news of the Egyptian stock exchange’s collapse with everyone selling stocks only and attempts to smuggle large quantities of gold, we decided to file this complaint to save the Egyptian people’s money,” Ahmed Nassar, the lawyer who filed the complaint, told Daily News Egypt.
“We are afraid that what happened in Tunisia, because large amounts of money were transferred outside the country during the revolution by the past regime’s figures, may be repeated in Egypt,” he added.
“We are waiting for the General Prosecutor’s response and if he doesn’t comply with our demands, we will file an emergency case in front of the administrative court to stop money transfers temporarily,” Nassar said.
Protests have swept the country since Tuesday in response to calls by activists including members of the April 6Youth Movement. Clashes between protestors and police resulted in the death of five protestors and one policeman as well as hundreds injured and arrested.
Early on Thursday the Egyptian stock market EGX 30 had fallen 10.587 percent while the broader EGX 70 was down more than 16 percent. Trading was suspended for around 40 minutes in the morning before resuming at around 11:30 am.
The Egyptian pound is also sliding against the US dollar, falling to a new low to trade at 5.8472 against the green back, the lowest point since February 2005, Reuters reported.
The protests were inspired by events in Tunisia earlier this month that led to the downfall of President Ben Ali, who fled the country on Jan. 14.
