Egypt recovers $1.5bn in tax evasion cases

Egypt has recovered LE12.1 billion in tax evasion cases and retrieved other state assets, the country's general prosecutor announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The prosecutor also confiscated 900 feddans of state land in Sharqiya along with 250 square metres of land in Sharm El-Sheikh from business tycoon Hussein Salem.

The statement did not clarify when the ruling was made or which cases it was in response to. It remains unclear why the lands were confiscated.

Salem escaped from Egypt following the eruption of the 2011 popular uprising that ousted long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Salem currently resides in Spain, where he holds citizenship. The business tycoon offered the government LE4.6 billion (half his fortune which is valued at LE8 billion) in exchange for reconciliation.

In May, Salem's lawyer, Mahmoud Kebeish, told Ahram Online that his client is facing two retrials on charges of illegally acquiring land, squandering public funds, and illegally selling electricity, in addition to a pending investigation on illicit gains.