Emirati tycoon’s jail term suspended

Cairo: Egypt’s General Prosecutor suspended a five-year prison sentence on Monday handed down to prominent Emirati businessman Hussain Sajwani, owner of Dubai-based developer DAMAC.

Mustafa Al Hussaini, head of Egypt’s Public Funds Prosecution, said that Sajwani had settled three disputes with the Egyptian government – two involving housing projects near Cairo and a third involving land on the Red Sea – by paying 42 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh22 billion).

In return, Sajwani has vowed to drop an international arbitration case he filed against Egypt in 2011 following his conviction in a corruption case regarding the 2006 purchase of land near Gamsha Bay on the Red Sea.

The case also found Zuheir Garranah, the former Tourism Minister, guilty of selling state-owned property at an underpriced value.

Several cases alleging that former President Hosni Mubarak’s government sold off land too cheaply have gained momentum since his overthrow in February 2011.

The government expects the settlement with Damac would spare Egypt the risks of international arbitration, safeguard its image abroad and reassure investors scared off by continuing political uncertainty — encouraging them to complete projects and pump more money in new projects in the country.

Analysts see this settlement as a step in the right direction for the troubled economy, but more needs to be done to convince investors in the longer term.

In related development “The government’s reconciliation plan with fugitive Egyptian tycoon Hussein Salem and former trade minister Rashid Mohammad Rashid is expected to be finalised within two weeks,” a judicial source, preferring anonymity, told Gulf News.

In May, Al Hussaini had said that the deal would either involve Salem’s surrendering his assets inside Egypt to the government or by selling them off and providing a cash payout.

Egyptian media outlets reported in the same month that Salem could pay the government as much as 7 billion Egyptian pounds, in which case outstanding charges against him would be dropped.