Billionaire real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa is put on trial for the murder of his Lebanese pop star lover
In a move that shocked the public, Egyptian authorities arrested real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa for allegedly arranging the murder of his former lover, a case dubbed the "crime of the year" by local press.
In early August, rumors surfaced that Moustafa was connected to the brutal murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, who was found with several stab wounds and her throat slit July 28 in her twenty-second-floor apartment at the Jumeirah Beach Resort in Dubai.
Moustafa, who is deputy chairman of the Shura Council's Economic Committee, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party's Supreme Policies Council and was then chairman of Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) --Egypt's largest real estate developer by market value appeared twice on Egyptian national television in early August calling for a crackdown on the spread of false information.
On September 2, Moustafa and former police officer Mohsen El Sokkary were referred to the Cairo Criminal Court, the former for allegedly ordering the murder of Tamim, his ex-mistress, and the latter (nicknamed "Egyptian Rambo" in local press) for allegedly killing her in return for $2 million (LE 10.1 million) from Moustafa.
Moustafa's brother Tarek Moustafa immediately replaced him as chairman of TMG. Nevertheless, shares of the company plunged from LE 8.20 to an all-time low of LE 4.86 on September 3. Shares of TMG fell more than 70% this year, the fourth-worst performance of any company on the CASE 30 index.
In a mid-September letter to Akhbar al-Youm, Moustafa said he was innocent. "Knives have been sharpened, tearing at my flesh," he wrote. "These lies will not be able to move the great pyramids I have constructed in the Egyptian economy."
Both defendants pleaded not guilty when the trial began on October 18 at the Southern Cairo Court in Bab El-Khalq. The two were denied bail, and the trial was adjourned until November 15, when the first of 13 witnesses, Interpol officer Sameer Saad Mohammed, who arrested El-Sokkary, testified.
On the first day of the trial, the judge ordered a media blackout and cleared the courthouse of journalists. Publishing bans on the media with regards to the Tamim case have been enacted twice before.
The defense teams for both Moustafa and El Sokkary have each submitted a series of 30-50 requests, calling for witnesses from London and Dubai, which means the trial could drag on for as long as a year.
November
Egypt's Finance minister, Youssef Boutros-Ghali was voted in as the new chair of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) policy committee, making him the first person from a developing country to hold this position. Despite the criticism the IMF has been receiving from world leaders regarding its stance and actions during the world financial crisis, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin believes Boutros-Ghali to be an important asset. "I think the appointment of the Minister of Finance has sent a very positive signal to developing countries," he said adding that this can increase participation from developing countries and emerging markets.
The American University in Cairo (AUC) will be offering women the choice of obtaining certificates in entrepreneurship and leadership through joint programs with universities abroad. This program aims at teaching female entrepreneurs professional management and leadership skills, accounting, marketing, and how to access capital. This is particularly important since it's been estimated that 18% of micro, small and medium sized enterprises are owned by women. Participants will be selected according to their financial need and their proven ambition. Maha El-Shinnawy, director of this program expects a least 100 women to obtain this certificate by the end the 2008-2009 academic year.
© Business Today Egypt 2008
