State Council top official arrested after his resignation over bribery case

Sunday 01-01-2017 11:56 AM

State Council building, (ASWAT MASRIYA/ Mohamed El Raai

CAIRO, Jan 1 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt’s State Council secretary-general was arrested after submitting his resignation on Saturday on the backdrop of a bribery case in which another administrative employee has been accused last week.

A manager at the State Council, Gamal al-Labban, was arrested on Tuesday on bribery charges and detained pending investigation, the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) said.

Some EGP 24 million and USD 4 million were found in the defendant's home, in addition to 1 million Saudi Riyals, and other belongings of gold and gifts.

In a statement, the State Council said it accepted secretary-general Wael Shalaby’s resignation and announced the appointment of Judge Fouad Abdel Fattah to take on the role.

A committee of council members was established to inspect all contracts and documents concluded by the State Council over the past five years in order to ascertain their compliance with the law, the statement added.

A security source told Aswat Masriya that Shalaby is expected to be interrogated by the Supreme State Security prosecution after preliminary investigation is concluded.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in a speech on Wednesday after the incident that regulatory bodies alone cannot combat corruption.

In a poll by Transparency International published in May, Egypt ranked second after Yemen, when citizens were asked about bribes they have to pay to get public services.

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