ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss federal prosecutors have dropped an 11-year investigation of suspected money-laundering by Egyptians associated to the Arab Spring uprisings, they mentioned on Wednesday.
“Despite the quite a few enquiries and having transferred 32 million Swiss francs to Egypt in 2018, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) should now settle for that the investigation has been unable to substantiate suspicions that will justify the indictment of anybody in Switzerland or any forfeiture of belongings,” the OAG mentioned in an announcement.
It mentioned it might launch the remaining 400 million Swiss francs ($429 million) that had been frozen.
The Swiss inquiry started in 2011 following occasions associated to the protests which led to the downfall of long-time Egyptian chief Hosni Mubarak.
The “complicated and in depth” prison case initially concerned 14 suspects, together with Mubarak’s two sons, in addition to 28 individuals and 45 authorized entities whose belongings had been seized. Five suspects had remained underneath investigation, the OAG mentioned.
The unique suspects, most of whom held official or necessary financial positions in Egypt, had been thought to have used Switzerland to launder the proceeds of corrupt acts.
($1 = 0.9315 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
