Mubarak funds will be returned to Egypt only if proven to be illicit gains - Swiss attorney-general

 Switzerland cannot start the retrieval process from Swiss banks for the frozen assets of Egyptian ex-president Hosni Mubarak without verifying they were obtained through embezzling public funds, Swiss attorney-general Michael Lauber said on Saturday.

"We are currently analysing the recently issued sentences, and if we do not find a direct correlation between the verdict and the funds in Switzerland we cannot return the money," said Lauber at a Cairo press conference during his visit to hold talks on the issue with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Sadiq.

"The whole issue is really complicated and I do not have an estimate for when we can give our final say on the matter," he added.

Last week, Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Gamal lost an appeal on a conviction for embezzling public funds.

In an initial verdict in May 2014, the trio were fined a total of LE125 million and required to pay an additional LE21 million to the state.

Mubarak is the first Egyptian president to stand trial and be convicted of corruption, with the guilty verdict now being final and cannot be further challenged. 

Based on initial estimates by the Swiss government, the total amount of assets of the Mubarak regime in Swiss banks is around CHF 650 million, or nearly $698 million (LE5 billion).
  ahram.org.eg
16/1/16
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Related:

• The Egyptian Court of Cassation rejected on Saturday an appeal by ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons against their three-year prison sentences and LE125 million fine on charges of embezzling public funds.