The Egyptian military court has issued its verdict to sentence the advisor to the Minister of Supply to 18 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of one million five hundred and eighty thousand Egyptian pounds and fourteen thousand US dollars, along with his dismissal from office.
The court ordered the confiscation of seized funds, real estate assets, and proceeds resulting from the crime. It also sentenced the general manager of the office of one of the sugar companies’ presidents to 7 years in prison and dismissal from his position and sentenced the owners of private companies to 10 years in prison for profiteering and withholding goods from the market.
The Administrative Control Authority had managed to arrest the advisor to the Minister of Supply and the general manager of the office of one of the sugar companies for receiving monetary amounts as bribes from the owner of a flour mill and another who owns a supply company, in exchange for allocating large quantities of sugar to their companies before raising its prices and withholding it from the markets from citizens, contributing to its price increase.
The recent sugar crisis in Egypt, despite the opening of the largest sugar production plant earlier this year, has led to an unprecedented rise in sugar prices. In retail stores, the cost of popular sugar brands saw significant increases, impacting consumers directly. To address this, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade has increased the rations of subsidized sugar to families to alleviate the impact of the shortage. This includes distributing additional amounts of sugar through ration cards, aiming to ease the burden faced by citizens. The ministry has taken measures to increase the supply of both subsidized and unsubsidized sugar in the market to mitigate the crisis.
In recent years, Egypt has taken significant steps to address corruption within its ranks, showcasing both the ongoing challenges and efforts for reform. However, corruption remains a deep-seated issue, as indicated by Egypt’s score of 35 out of 100 on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, placing it 108th among 180 countries.
