CAIRO - Egypt's former culture minister, Faruk Hosni, was on Tuesday referred to a criminal court on charges of corruption, Deputy Justice Minister for illicit gains Assem al-Gohari said.
Hosni, who served under ousted president Hosni Mubarak for more than two decades, is accused of having illegally acquired 18 million Egyptian pounds (nearly $3 million), which he is now being asked to return, state media reported.
The former minister had so far escaped the wide net cast by authorities after Mubarak's overthrow in 2011 that saw dozens of ex-ministers and businessmen associated with the old regime behind bars on corruption charges.
Gohari's decision comes after a long investigation during which Hosni "could not provide legitimate sources for the wealth he accrued," the official MENA news agency said.
