Cairo: Egyptian authorities on Wednesday stepped up efforts to solve the mystery of a leading banker who was found slain inside her villa on the outskirts of Cairo a day earlier.
Police launched a massive hunt for the killer of Nevine Lutfi, the chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) Egypt.
Lutfi, 64, was killed by multiple stabs in the chest, neck and stomach inside her villa in a gated compound in the October 6 city on the outskirts of Cairo, security sources said.
Prosecutors started interrogating several people including the victim’s Indonesian housemaid, Egyptian chauffeur and security personnel of the compound.
Prosecution also asked mobile phone companies to transcribe Lutfi’s recent calls in an attempt to identify the murderer.
Lutfi was living alone in the two-storey villa since her two sons left to work outside Egypt, neighbours said. She was on good terms with others, they added.
Initial investigations showed that the killer had sneaked into the villa through the window of a bathroom and left the same way after committing the murder, security sources said. He then drove out of the the compound in Lutfi’s car.
The killer is believed to have abandoned the car about one kilometre away from the compound, apparently in fear of being tracked down by police, they added.
Having obtained a degree in economics from the American University in Cairo, Lutfi started her banking career in 1976, joining Citibank in Egypt as a financial analyst.
She had since gained extensive experience in the US, Europe and in emerging markets. Primary areas of her expertise were local corporate, small and medium-scale business management, credit risk and capital management.
In 2008, she became the managing director and CEO of ADIB Egypt. She led the bank’s transformation into a fully Sharia-compliant and a modern customer-orientated financial institution, according to ADIB website.
Lutfi’s slaying is the second targeting a leading female banker in Egypt in seven years.
In 2009, the then credit manager of the state-owned Misr Bank, Hala Fayeq, was killed under similar circumstances.
Police arrested the killer three days after the murder. He was identified as the husband of the victim’s housemaid. Later, the court sentenced him to death.
