Egypt Bans Mubarak and Family Travel, Freezes Assets

Egypt on Monday slapped a ban on ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family traveling abroad, and also imposed a freeze on their assets, judicial officials said.

Besides Mubarak, who resigned on February 11 following weeks of protests, the decision also applied for his wife Suzanne, his two sons Ala and Gamal, and their wives, according to the same source.

Mubarak stepped down after three decades of iron-fisted rule, handing control over to the army and heading to the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

On February 21, Egypt's prosecutor general Abdel Magid Mahmoud requested a freeze on the foreign assets of the former president and his family.

The prosecutor charged Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit with contacting foreign countries to seek the assets freeze.

A judicial official said at the time that the prosecutor's office had received several complaints regarding Mubarak's wealth being outside the country, "which necessitates an investigation."

Mubarak is widely thought to have grown wealthy during his rule, but an unidentified legal adviser has been quoted as saying talk of a multi-billion-dollar fortune was nothing but "a groundless rumor.”

However, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the Mubarak family had "secret accounts in Egyptian banks," including deposits of $147 million for his wife Suzanne and $100 million each for his sons.

Egyptian authorities have launched numerous judicial proceedings against those close to Mubarak, most of them based on accusations of corruption and fraud.

The announcement of the travel ban and assets freeze came a day after judicial officials said former interior minister Habib al-Adly would go on trial for money laundering from March 5.