Mubarak and family banned from traveling out of Egypt

The public prosecutor of Egypt has imposed a travel ban on former President Hosni Mubarak and his family, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

The directive, which also puts a freeze the Mubarak’s family’s money and assets, applied to Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, their two sons Ala and Gamal and their wives.

Egypt’s interim government has already requested a number of European governments to freeze assets that Mubarak may have there. Anti-corruption campaigners believe Mubarak may have billions of dollars in assets socked away – some estimates of his ill-gotten wealth range as high as $70-billion.

Reuters reported that complaints against the Mubarak are also being investigated by the prosecutor’s office.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the Mubaraks owned secret accounts in Egyptian banks, including deposits of $147 million for his wife and $100 million each for his sons.

Mubarak, who resigned from power earlier this month in the face of massive protests, is believed to be in ill health and sequestered in his luxurious villa in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The deposed leader has not been seen in public since he stepped down from the presidency.

Already, three former government officials have been charged with corruption: former ministers of interior Habib al-Adly, tourism Zuhair Garana, and housing Ahmed al-Maghrabi.

Adly will face trial on money-laundering charges from March 5.