Issue No. 610
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31 Oct. - 6 Nov. 2002 Issue No. 610 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
NDP heavyweight behind bars
The chairman of parliament's economic committee, who was already under investigation for financial malfeasance, was remanded into custody this week for one-month
Prosecutor-General Maher Abdel-Wahed ordered Abdallah Tayel, chairman of the People's Assembly Economic Affairs Committee, remanded into custody for one-month, pending investigation on charges of banking fraud and graft, reports Gamal Essam El-Din. The charges levelled against Tayel concern his alleged use of his post as chairman of Misr Exterior Bank (an Egyptian-Spanish joint venture) to provide, in return for hefty bribes, several businessmen with credit facilities without assuring that they had sufficient collateral. These actions left Misr Exterior Bank saddled with LE1.7 billion in bad debts.
Other charges, for which Tayel's parliamentary immunity was lifted on three occasions, contend that Tayel was involved in a range of shady dealings that led to the plunder of a sizable portion of Misr Exterior Bank's funds. Topping this list, is the accusation that Tayel approved a measure of debt- forgiveness on dollar- denominated loans taken by four businessmen, including Tayseer El-Hawari, an iron and steel magnate.
Tayel is also accused of speculating on the Egyptian pound. When the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) gave Misr Exterior Bank a $20 million grant to help meet its clients' demand for dollars, Tayel allegedly disbursed the money in loans to businessmen friends against an exchange rate ($1 to LE4.27) that was much lower than the official rate at the time ($1 to LE4.61). This discrepancy amounted to LE5 million in lost revenues for the bank.
Tayel was dismissed from his position in May. At the end of September, he was also banned by the prosecutor-general from leaving the country, while the assets of his family were put under sequestration. Tayel filed an appeal against the prosecutor-general's order, but it was rejected by Cairo's Criminal Court on 19 September.
Tayel's case brought to light the fact that the bad loans crisis is still rocking Egyptian banks. Last month the prosecutor-general also ordered that five businessmen and two leading bankers be banned from leaving the country and that their assets be sequestrated. All face charges of banking fraud and graft. Tayel is expected to be tried before the Supreme State Security Court. If found guilty, he will lose his seat in parliament. Three MPs during the current five-year parliament -- all of them businessmen -- have suffered this fate for holding dual nationality or being indicted for financial malfeasance.
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