Former Egyptian Finance Minister Sentenced To 30 Years

A criminal court in Egypt has sentenced former finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali to thirty years in prison for graft and corruption.

Specifically, Boutros-Ghali got 15 years for wasting public money and another 15 years for abusing his prominent position by exploiting finance ministry funds.

The court also fined him 60-million Egyptian pounds (or $10-million).

The conviction is in absentia since it is not clear where Boutros-Ghali is currently living (Egyptian media has reported that he’s in Beirut, Lebanon).

Boutros-Ghali resigned in late January and escaped fled abroad, only days after the eruption of the mass uprising that later ousted Hosni Mubarak. He subsequently quit as chief of the International Monetary Fund's principal policy steering panel, the International Monetary and Financial Committee.

He is the nephew Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Boutros-Ghali is the latest in a slew of high officials from the regime of deposed President Hosni Mubarak to be charged, convicted and imprisoned on a raft of criminal charges.

In May, the former tourism and interior ministers were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Meanwhile, Mubarak, 83, remains under house arrest in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Among other charges, he will be tried on allegations that he ordered his security forces to shoot and kill protesters who ultimately toppled his 30-year rule.

Almost 900 people were killed during the rebellion in February.

He has already been assessed with a $34-million for shutting down internet and communications services during the uprising.

Mubarak reportedly cannot be moved from his hospital bed because of his weak heart.

Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, are presently detained in Cairo's Tora prison facing corruption and fraud charges. Mubarak’s wife is out on bail after giving up her assets, including a villa outside Cairo and $3-million held in Egyptian banks.