The Spanish Ministry of Justice announced today, Tuesday, that Cairo asked it to extradite businessman and artist Mohamed Ali, known to the media as a "fugitive contractor", who is based in Barcelona, where he faces charges of "fraud and money laundering."
Last year, the Egyptian embassy submitted an application to receive Mohamed Ali, who has been living in Barcelona for two years, and his case is still awaiting settlement before the Spanish National Court, the ministry told AFP.
Egyptian investigators said Muhammad Ali, 46, was found guilty of fraud of 135 million Egyptian pounds ($ 7.4 million) and four million Egyptian pounds ($ 219,000), according to court documents seen by France Press. The charges relate to the purchase and sale of real estate and cars between 2006 and 2018.
Last December, Muhammad Ali was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for his conviction of tax evasion, and a security source confirmed that the Egyptian prosecution office was "searching for Muhammad Ali and notified INTERPOL of that."