Days have passed since the dismissal of the President of the Commercial International Bank in Egypt, Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, but the debate has not stopped regarding this dismissal, and speculation has not stopped about the reasons behind it, especially since the man is one of the most successful banking figures in Egypt and the Middle East, and he has made a move Bank performance.
Last Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt sent a letter to the Board of Directors of the Commercial International Bank (CIB) - the largest bank listed on the stock exchange in Egypt - demanding the removal of Ezz Al-Azab from his position as president of the bank, according to a set of observations included in the speech.
The decision resonated with global stock exchanges, as the bank's international depositary certificates decreased by 17% on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, while observers considered that the dismissal decision may be linked to conflicts between wings in government and centers of power and influence in Egypt.
However, a source inside the Central Bank of Egypt told Al-Jazeera Net that the dismissal of Hisham Ezz Al-Arab may be due in large part to the leakage of an American investigation that lasted more than 3 years into the funds that flowed through an Egyptian state-owned bank to support US President Donald Trump millions of dollars during his election campaign in the year 2016 and ended with his accession to the presidency, according to
news published by
CNN a few days ago.
According to this source, the Commercial International Bank in Egypt was the bank that was involved in financing the Trump campaign, and the dismissal of Ezz Al-Arab came to save face and keep him out of the limelight and the possibilities of accountability and inspection of the party behind Trump's campaign financing.
The Central Bank asked the Commercial International Bank in Egypt to dismiss its president, Hisham Ezz Al-Arab (Al-Jazeera)
In his speech, the source stressed that financial dealings with official foreign entities are not carried out without the approval of the political leadership, and Hisham Ezz Al-Arab has not embezzled or wasted state assets, and his dismissal came with the aim of protecting him, as the banking law in Egypt gives the Central Bank the right to drop all financial, administrative and legal problems from Chairman of the board of directors of any bank operating in Egypt as soon as resignation or dismissal, thus closing the door to the possibility of holding the man criminally or politically accountable for wasting these millions in the Trump campaign.
It is noteworthy that the Central Bank of Egypt issued a memorandum on October 22, directed to Hassan Abaza, the executive officer, managing director and member of the Board of Directors of the Commercial International Bank, in which he said that the field inspection conducted for the bank had resulted in serious violations of the provisions of the Central Bank Law and the Banking System and the instructions Supervision and decisions issued by the Central Bank of Egypt, and sound banking norms and practices.
The memorandum referred in particular to the severe weakness in the control procedures over the credit granting operations and their credibility, and their waste of all banking foundations, as well as the existence of severe deficiencies in the internal control environment, which resulted in huge financial losses that the Central Bank sees as a danger to the bank from these negative practices and thus exposing The integrity and reputation of the banking system is fully at risk.
For his part, Hisham Ezz Al-Arab said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that he was intending to leave the position of Chairman and Managing Director last year, but the shareholders asked him to continue for another 12 months, stressing that "given the current situation with the Central Bank of Egypt, I decided that It is time to end my journey with CIB. "
Meanwhile, Egyptian press reports talked about major differences between Ezz Al-Arab and Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer.