Egypt in the Panama Papers: Business tycoons, state-run banks spotted

A number of 38 offshore companies linked to Egyptian businessmen were found in the full data base of the offshore leaks published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on 9 May.

The names of businessmen included Naguib Sawiris, CEO of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology, Salah Diab, owner of Egypt’s high profile private newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, Hassan Heikal, former CEO of leading investment bank EFG Hermes and other notable figures.

In April, more than 11 million leaked documents from the world’s fourth biggest law firm Mossack Fonseca unveiled names of international politicians and public figures that hide their wealth in tax havens.

The documents included name of former president Hosni Mubarak’s son Alaa in addition to businessmen who were members in Mubarak’s party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), such as Mohamed Abu El-Enein, Ahmed Bahgat, Ashraf Marwan, Mohamed Mansour, Raouf Ghabbour and Mohamed Al-Maghraby.