Egyptian officials’ assets to be traced by Serious Organised Crime Agency

Following Egypt’s request to freeze assets of Hosni Mubarak and his cabinet, Soca will investigate UK-based bank accounts Officers from Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency are expected to begin tracing the bank accounts of Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet after the Egyptian government made a formal request for a freeze on the assets of the ousted president and his former colleagues. The foreign secretary, William Hague, said Soca would take charge of the hunt for accounts in London, though the timing and extent of the investigation would be decided by EU finance ministers following discussions in Brussels. Hague said UK rules prevented the police from freezing bank accounts without “evidence of illegality or misuse of state assets”. He stressed that if evidence became available the government would take “firm and prompt action”. His stance disappointed opposition MPs, who argued the government should move more quickly to support the new Egyptian government in its efforts to repatriate illicit funds sent overseas. The shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, demanded to know why the government had failed to authorise an immediate investigation to prevent funds leaving the UK for less regulated offshore tax havens. He said the government needed to move quickly to prevent Mubarak, his family and cronies who benefited from the corrupt regime from avoiding scrutiny. The Egyptian government demand follows reports that the former president used his position as leader over 30 years to amass a fortune in cash, gold bars and other assets inside Egypt and overseas. It is understood Mubarak and his sons, Gamal and Alaa, are each billionaires with properties in London, Paris, the US and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Protesters in Cairo and Alexandria have demanded the return of assets they believe were the result of corrupt deals between the Mubaraks and foreign investors. To impose an asset freeze on an outgoing leader, the EU needs the backing of all 27 member states and usually co-ordinates its actions with the incoming government. Last week, the bloc announced a freeze on the assets of 48 ex-Tunisian officials, including former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife. Switzerland said it would freeze that assets of Mubarak family members in a statement over the weekend. Swiss bank accounts are a favourite with disgraced dictators as they have provided security and secrecy from investigations by foreign governments. It is not known if the Swiss authorities have any records of accounts held by the family, which are more likely to be in impenetrable trusts or in the names of obscure companies. The Foreign Office is expected to notify the Soca of the identities of the named Egyptian officials over the next 24 hours, according to police. Soca would then circulate their names amongst banks and financial institutions and would notify City of London police or the Serious Fraud Office of any possible offences. Gamal Mubarak, 47, has lived for many years in a £6m house in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, west London, according to neighbours. The house is ultimately owned by the Duke of Westminster. Last week, builders could be seen working on the property’s basement. Friends of the Mubaraks have claimed that the family have lived in a number of desirable properties in Mayfair, central London, which were owned by offshore companies. Gamal was a director of the London based medical firm Medinvest Associates for seven years until 2001, according to Companies House. Egypt Hosni Mubarak Middle East Crime Phillip Inman Rajeev Syal guardian.co.uk

Posted by on February 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry