The brother of a former Egyptian finance minister was sentenced on Saturday to 30 years in prison by a Cairo court for trying to smuggle thousands of antique items out of Egypt. Raouf Ghali, brother of Youssef Ghali, Minister of Finance under the regime of Hosni Mubarak, was also fined 6 million Egyptian pounds (350,800 euros) for trying to send these ancient objects to Italy.
Raouf Ghali had three accomplices, including the former Italian honorary consul Ladislav Otakar Skakal, already sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia in January in the same case, as well as two Egyptians. On Saturday, the Cairo court sentenced the three to 15 years in prison and a fine of one million Egyptian pounds (58,100 euros), according to a judicial source. Ladislav Otakar Skakal now faces 30 years in prison if he is arrested by the Egyptian authorities.
The loot found on board a container
According to the attorney general, more than 21,000 gold coins, 151 miniature figurines, five mummy masks, eleven pottery, three ceramics dating from the Islamic period and a wooden sarcophagus were among the stolen objects. Italian police found the loot in a container on a boat that left the Egyptian port of Alexandria for Salerno in southern Italy in 2017.
According to the judicial source, the Egyptian authorities also discovered valuables hidden in the caïrote remains of Ladislav Otakar Skakal, and in the safe of a bank account of the ex-consul. In 2018 Egypt repatriated the stolen objects with the cooperation of the Italian authorities and asked Interpol to issue a red notice against Ladislav Otakar Skakal.
Attempts to smuggle antiques have multiplied after the fall of Mubarak, during the revolt of 2011. For several years, Egypt has sought to promote its archaeological heritage in order to revive a tourism sector vital to its economy.
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