Former Egyptian finance minister sentenced over corruption

Officials said that the supreme state criminal court sentenced the former finance minister Mohey Eddine al-Gharib to eight year imprisonment with hard labor over accusations of embezzling public funds.

The sentence was issued by the court which retried al-Gharib amid a tough campaign launched by the government against corruption, analysts said aimed at softening people's dissatisfaction with government officials.

Officials at the court said that al-Gharib, minister of finance during 1996- 1999, will appeal before the first court of Cassation for the second time, as the government had retried al-Gharib with other individuals in the same case.

Other three government's officials were retried and three businessmen with al-Gharib, after they had three appeals for the court of Cassation over sentences issued against them under several accusations including deliberate harm of the public funds, negligence, and falsifying official documents.