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Mubarak and Sons Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement


Former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, were sentenced to prison today for embezzling state funds. Hosni Mubarak received a three-year sentence while his sons each received four-year sentences. The family was accused of stealing $17.6 million (125 million Egyptian pounds) to renovate their private homes, although some have claimed this amount is only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the prison sentence, the family was fined $3 million and told to repay the $17.6 million that was stolen.

The funds allegedly went to pay for renovations on the family’s private residences, including decorating, furnishing, and even expanding their properties, which include villas on the Red Sea, a family farm, and a luxurious palace in Cairo. The funds also went to fund Mubarak’s sons’ profitable investment business. In order to get away with these embezzlements, the family simply had fake receipts sent to the state construction company, which paid the bill.

Mubarak had spent three years in detention until last August, when he was transferred to house arrest at a military hospital. It is not clear how much of the detention will be applied to his three-year prison term, but judicial sources have stated they do not expect Mubarak to serve the entire sentence. Activists were quick to compare the Mubaraks’ sentences to that of Mahienour al-Masri, a revolutionary activist who received two years jail time just for protesting without a permit.

Mubarak is also currently on trial for compliance in the killing of protesters during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Neither the Mubaraks’ wives nor current Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb were tried, though all are believed or demonstrated to have taken part in the embezzlements.