Egypt ready to cooperate with Swiss government to restore smuggled funds

Minister of Justice Ahmed el Zend said on Tuesday that Egypt is ready for cooperation with the Swiss government to restore funds that were smuggled during Mubarak's era.

The minister made the remarks during a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Marco Leitner.

The defendants of Mubarak regime may reach a deal with Switzerland only through Egypt's government to restore the money, el Zend said.

During the meeting, the minister reviewed with the Swiss diplomat the amended law which controls the illicit gains.

The new amendments allow the officials with frozen assets in Switzerland to reach a compromise after paying back all illicit gains.

The amended law is the fruit of judicial cooperation between the two countries, el Zend said, expecting more efforts would be exerted to refresh cooperation at economic, tourism and commercial levels.

Cairo is keen on restoring its assets and giving the defendant the opportunity to be cleared from custodial penalties, he said.

Meantime, Leitner asserted the Swiss government wants to return frozen Mubarak regime funds to Egypt.

The Swiss government is preparing a protocol of cooperation to be signed with the government of Egypt, the diplomat said.