Egypt court sentences former minister for 15 years

A former Egyptian trade and industry minister in Mubarak government has been sentenced in absentia along with his daughter to 15 years in prison for corruption by a criminal court here.
Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who served from 2004 to 2011 in Hosni Mubarak's regime, was sentenced for illegally amassing a fortune of USD 71,400 and smuggling it to Cyprus without declaring it to authorities.
The court has also slapped a fine of USD 74 million on the minister who is currently residing outside the country with his daughter.
The alleged smuggling took place after Rachid left his ministerial post and fled the country following Egypt's January 2011 revolution, Al Ahram reported today.

Rachid paid a fine of about USD 2 million to Egyptian authorities last year to settle two other legal cases in which he had been accused of squandering public funds while serving as trade minister.