Zakaria Azmy's illicit gains retrial deferred to August 22

The Cairo Criminal Court postponed until August 22 the retrial of ex-chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmy over charges of illicit gains.

Azmi was convicted by an Egyptian court on charges of corruption and sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of 36.4 million pounds. He was granted an appeal for a retrial.

The Illicit Gain Authority had accused Azmy of gaining some 42.5 million pounds from abusing his posts as the chief of presidential staff and a parliament member.

He was also accused of buying real estate in different cities, including an apartment in the San Stefano towers in Alexandria at 1 million pounds a time when it was worth more than 5 million pounds, a villa in Marina and two land plots in Hurghada.

He was further accused of obtaining land in Ismailia through direct order, apartments in a building in Heliopolis in return for granting the owner a license to build in violation of the law, and 1,725 square meters of land in New Cairo from former Housing Minister Ibrahim Suleiman also in violation of the law.