The Cairo criminal court sentenced on Saturday Egypt's former Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid in absentia five years in prison over charges of profiteering and squandering public funds, Xinhua reported.
According to state MENA news agency, the court also fined Rashid 9.385 million Egyptian pounds (around 1.57 million U.S. dollars) for illegally seizing funds from the Export Development Fund and harming national interests.
Rashid escaped the country after former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled. He was referred to criminal trial for corruption late in February together with former housing minister Ahmed al- Maghrabi and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, a member of the National Democratic Party.