An Egyptian court sentenced Hosni Mubarak-era mogul Hussein Salem and his son and daughter in absentia to 10 years in jail for squandering public funds and illegally selling electricity.
Salem escaped from Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the January 2011 uprising and currently resides in Spain, where he holds citizenship.
Ten petroleum company officials who were involved in the purchase of electricity from Salem's Egyptian-Israeli company Midor in the 1990s were tried alongside Salem and also received prison sentences.
Five officials received seven-year suspended sentences and five others received one-year suspended sentences. The court ruled that all the 10 employees be suspended from their company for a period of two years.
The accused were ordered by the Alexandria court to collectively pay LE23 million as a fine and return the squandered money.
In 2013, Salem requested a settlement with the Egyptian prosecution in which he offered to give 75 percent of his Egyptian assets and 55 percent of his assets abroad to the Egyptian government in exchange for dropping the charges against him. The request was negotiated with prosecutors, but a deal has not yet been reached.
In June 2012, Salem was sentenced along with Mubarak-era petroleum minister Sameh Fahmy to 15 years in jail for squandering public funds in a gas deal with Israel. He and other officials were ordered to pay over $2.5 billion in fines and squandered funds. The sentence was appealed and a retrial is under way.
In March 2012, Salem was handed a 15-year sentence in absentia for illegally acquiring public property.
Salem is also facing charges of profiteering along with Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa.
