Switzerland Identifies $1bn Worth of Dictators' Assets
THE GUARDIAN: Three-year freeze for Swiss bank assets of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, Egypt's Hosni Murbarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

The Swiss government says it has identified potential assets to be frozen worth 830m Swiss francs (nearly $1bn or £600m) belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the ousted presidents of Egypt and Tunisia.

Swiss president and foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, speaking in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, said the assets include 360m Swiss francs that may belong to Gaddafi or his entourage.

She said Switzerland had also linked 410m Swiss francs to the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, and 60m Swiss francs to Tunisia's deposed autocrat, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Switzerland has ordered banks and other financial institutions to freeze possible assets belonging to the three men and their key supporters to prevent the funds from being secretly withdrawn. The Swiss government has said Tunisia and Egypt have already started legal proceedings to claim the assets.

The government added that neither country has yet provided the necessary evidence of possible criminal wrongdoing involving the money. » | Associated Press in Geneva | Tuesday, April 03, 2011

Egypt's Mubarak Hospitalized Amid Growing Corruption Probe

Photo: AP

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (file photo)

Egyptian authorities say former President Hosni Mubarak has been taken to a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was under house arrest.

The 82-year-old was expected to face legal questioning over corruption allegations and Western media reported that he was to be interviewed by investigators as early as Tuesday.

During the later years of his rule, he had been suffering health problems and had undergone gallbladder surgery and treatment in Germany. He was ousted from office amid popular protests on February 11.

On Sunday, Egypt's public prosecutor summoned Mubarak for questioning about the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds, as hundreds of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanded he be brought to trial.

A statement from the prosecutor said Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa also were summoned in the corruption probe. A later announcement Sunday said authorities detained former prime minister Ahmed Nazif for 15 days as part of a corruption investigation.

The ousted president says the allegations against him are unfounded, and that he has the right to defend his reputation and that of his family. 

Mubarak's remarks were broadcast Sunday by the Al-Arabiya news channel.  They were his first public remarks since mass protests forced his departure in February.

The former leader said he is willing to cooperate with authorities investigating his wealth, and stated that he does not have any foreign bank accounts or large properties abroad.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Video: Egyptian protesters call for Mubarak to face trial TelegraphTV

Mubarak Family Riches Attract New Focus
THE NEW YORK TIMES: After Hosni Mubarak’s younger son, Gamal, left his job as an executive with Bank of America in London in the mid-1990s, he joined forces with Egypt’s largest investment bank. Today he has a significant stake in a private equity company with interests throughout the Egyptian economy, from oil to agriculture to tourism, corporate records and interviews show.

During President Hosni Mubarak’s nearly 30-year rule, he and his family were not flamboyant with their wealth, particularly by the standards of other leaders in the Middle East. While there is no indication that Gamal Mubarak or the bank were involved in illegal activity, his investments show how deeply the family is woven into Egypt’s economy.

Now with Hosni Mubarak out of power, there are growing calls for an accounting to begin.

Within hours of Mr. Mubarak’s resignation on Friday, Swiss officials ordered all banks in Switzerland to search for — and freeze — any assets of the former president, his family or close associates. In Egypt, opposition leaders vowed to press for a full investigation of Mr. Mubarak’s finances.

Tracing the money is likely to be difficult because business in Egypt was largely conducted in secret among a small group connected to Mr. Mubarak.

“Now we open all the files,” said George Ishak, head of the National Association for Change, an opposition umbrella group. “We will research everything, all of them: the families of the ministers, the family of the president, everyone.”

Estimates of the Mubaraks’ fortune vary wildly, including a widespread rumor that they are worth as much as $70 billion. United States officials say that figure is vastly exaggerated and put the family’s wealth at $2 billion to $3 billion. >>> NEIL MacFARQUHAR, DAVID ROHDE and ARAM ROSTON | Saturday, February 12, 2011

THE SUNDAY TIMES: SFO hunts Hosni Mubarak’s missing millions >>> David Leppard and Richard Kerbaj | Sunday, February 13, 2011 [£]

Egypt in Crisis: Business Collapse Piles Pressure on Mubarak
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Factories are closed, cash machines running dry, and food and petrol shortages feared, but some say it is a price worth paying

The industrial city of Abu Rawash sits in the desert beyond the pyramids. You reach it down a dusty road that seems to lead to nowhere. Then the factories and warehouses begin: Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda and Jeep deserted save for a handful of security guards sitting in front of a vacant parking lot for absent staff.

Outside the gates of the Toyota warehouse Ayman Ibrahim is talking to the gatekeeper. The factories are closed, the man tells Ibrahim, who owns a window business on the same site. They won't reopen until at least mid-week. Perhaps even Friday. No one really knows.

The closures in places such as Abu Rawash have been accompanied by calls from unions for an indefinite general strike. "I'm losing £10,000 pounds a week," says Ibrahim. "But it's worth it, I've been to the protest in Tahrir Square for the past three days with my kids. Mubarak is costing me money, but he has been costing Egypt money for 30 years." >>> Peter Beaumont in Cairo | Monday, January 31, 2011