Four deputies from Egyptian ruling party on trial for endangering banking system

The international Egyptian security state supreme court resumes today its examination of a case involving bad loans in which 32 of well-known personalities withing the economic circles -- including four members in the parliament -- are accused of obtaining 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($300 million) from national banks.

The case is considered one of the largest involving charges of financial corruption, where the prosecution accuses the suspects of securing LE 1 billion through various loans, obtaining them from four national banks without presenting any the needed guarantees, which endangers to the banks' soundness. It was suspected that the accused have been aided by a number of officials.

The four parliamentary deputies from the ruling National Party are former Minister of Tourism Tawfik Abdu Ismael, who was working as the head of the budget planning committee in the parliament when the charge was directed at him; Khaled Hamed Mahmoud Azam and Ibrahim Ajlan.The parliament took parliamentary immunity from them last year.