Egyptian security forces arrested senior officials at the Grand Egyptian Museum over charges in a corruption and antiquities theft case, in which a bronze statue of the god Osiris was replaced with a counterfeit ancient coin. They were referred to the criminal court after investigations that lasted about five months.
The First Attorney General of the Public Funds Prosecution decided to refer the defendants in the case to the criminal court. They are: the antiquities custodian and former head of the inorganic antiquities storehouse (No. 91) at the Antiquities Conservation Centre of the Grand Egyptian Museum, and current head of the Greek and Roman antiquities department at the same museum; the former director of the antiquities storage and registration department at the Conservation Centre, and current director of the department for selecting artefacts for museum display at the Grand Egyptian Museum; and the director of antiquities affairs and information and former electronic database officer at the Grand Egyptian Museum. This follows accusations that they stole a bronze statue of Osiris, dating back to the Late Pharaonic Period, from the Grand Egyptian Museum.
According to the prosecution, the main defendant seized the statue and the official papers relating to it by virtue of his job, as he had recorded the stolen antiquities in the state’s name. Instead of keeping and handing them over, the defendant kept them for himself with the aim of owning and concealing them.
The referral order stated that the defendant, as a public employee and one of those entrusted with deposits, “head of a storehouse and antiquities custodian at the inorganic antiquities storehouse at the Grand Egyptian Museum”, embezzled funds and papers found in his possession by virtue of his job. He stole an antiquity, a bronze statue of Osiris dating to the Late Pharaonic Period, from among the registered antiquities owned by the state and entrusted to his safekeeping, and embezzled the paper original of the report dated 10 October 2012 documenting the procedures for his receipt of the statue, which had been handed to him by virtue of his job, but he kept them both for himself with the intention of owning them and depriving his employer of them.
The investigations stated that this crime was coupled with the crimes of forging official documents and official electronic documents and using them, in an indivisible connection, as a public employee who committed forgery in official documents, namely the antiquities movement register at inorganic antiquities storehouse No. 91 at the Antiquities Conservation Centre of the Grand Egyptian Museum. He recorded the entry and registration of antiquarian coins at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the antiquities custody handover list attached to the report dated 29 January 2015, by deleting and adding words and presenting a forged fact as a true one.
The investigations also indicated that the crime was committed by deleting the statue’s data from the database, except for its number, and supplying it with an image, data and a description of a metal piece forged to resemble antiquities, registering it in that database under the number of the aforementioned statue, contrary to the truth.
He also forged an antiquity with intent to defraud, by forging a metal piece resembling an ancient coin dating to the Roman and Ptolemaic periods of ancient Egypt, passing it off as an authentic antiquity whose data were recorded in the forged documents that are the subject of the previous charge, intending to defraud officials at his workplace and to conceal the embezzlement that is the subject of the first charge.
The bronze statue of Osiris was handed over to the defendant on 10 October 2012, and the defendants, the head of the committee supervising the handover between the first defendant and the storehouse keeper who preceded him, did not hand over the said statue to the storehouse keeper who succeeded him, and the first defendant handed over a counterfeit coin in its place.
Liberian Gas Tanker Remains Held at the Entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba
Environment Minister Dr Yasmine Fouad said that Egypt continues to hold the empty Liberian gas tanker that ran aground at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba last Friday evening, through the relevant investigative authorities, after the ship left the site where it ran aground safely, sailing to the holding area under the supervision of the South Sinai Nature Protectorates Department and the holding authorities, without any pollution or leakage of gas or fuel.
Fouad added that the technical and legal procedures and the underwater environmental inspections followed since the incident occurred, and after the ship left the grounding site until now, are being monitored around the clock. They are carried out by specialised teams from the South Sinai Nature Protectorates Department under the supervision of the ministry’s Nature Conservation Sector, and the expected damage to some areas of coral reef caused by the ship running aground on them is currently being assessed.
On Sunday, the Egyptian authorities announced that they had raised the state of readiness and environmental emergency in anticipation of any leaks or pollution from an international ship loaded with gas that had become stuck at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. Egyptian media reported that a gas vessel had run aground on the “Ras Nasrani” reef at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba.
Power Cuts Return
Government sources told Egyptian media that the National Control Centre of the electricity grid is committed to Dr Mostafa Madbouly’s decision to suspend the load-shedding schedule from the first day of Ramadan until the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which ended yesterday, Sunday. The sources said the National Control Centre would begin today, Monday, to resume load shedding from 11 am to 5 pm, for a maximum of one hour.
Local media, citing what they called government sources, are promoting the claim that the reasons for implementing the power cut plan are the fuel shortage and increased daily electricity consumption. A source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that “many citizens do not ration their electricity consumption and use it carelessly, and the multiple thefts of electricity are one of the main reasons for resorting to load shedding”.
Cigarette Prices Rise
Yesterday, Sunday, a new increase in cigarette prices began to be applied to Cleopatra, Box, Mondial and many other brands.
Eastern Company raised cigarette prices by between EGP 2.5 and EGP 5, with Cleopatra King Size, Cleopatra Soft Queen, Boston/Belmont, Cleopatra Box (White/Colours), Cleopatra Super, Mondial (Red/Blue/Silver), Mondial Switch (Menthol/Blueberry), Cleopatra Black and Matossian Super now priced at EGP 34.50, compared with EGP 30 previously.
Report: 84% of Families Stopped Repaying Debts
A report by Alternative Policy Solutions (a research project at the American University in Cairo concerned with offering public policy proposals to deal with some of the challenges facing Egyptian society through a process) shed light on the impact of rising food prices on poor families in Egypt, as food makes up the largest part of their total consumption and therefore has a direct effect on the health and safety of their members, who are forced to change their spending patterns.
The report indicates that 84% of families stopped repaying debts, 47% of families resorted to eating cheaper food alternatives and reducing them, 43% cut spending on health and 25% cut spending on education. The number of undernourished people rose in 2022 to about 7.8 million.
The figures for reduced consumption of meat, chicken, eggs and fish were alarming, ranging from 85% for meat to 60% for dairy, putting the health of millions of Egyptians at stake and exposing them to chronic and serious diseases such as malnutrition, stunting, wasting and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer).
More than a third of Egyptian women suffer from anaemia because of the difficulty the poorest segments of society face in accessing a balanced diet, which weakens the immune system and worsens health complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
Since the start of the exchange rate liberalisation at the end of 2016, the Egyptian government has significantly reduced food subsidies; although their nominal value increased in the new general budget, they declined as a share of public spending and GDP.
The researchers in the report believe it is necessary to increase the amounts allocated to ration cards and to continue providing commodity subsidies, because they provide a minimum of food security amid rising poverty rates, which reached 35.7%, a total of 37.05 million citizens, in 2023.
41% of UN Aid Missions Blocked from Reaching Northern Gaza
The United Nations revealed that the occupation prevented 41% of its coordinated aid missions from reaching the northern Gaza Strip between 6 and 12 April.
The UN stressed that the Israeli occupation’s obligation to facilitate the access of humanitarian aid does not end until the aid reaches civilians.
Late last month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the only efficient and effective way to move heavy goods to meet humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip is by land, including a massive increase in commercial deliveries.
He added that “the daily assault on the dignity of Palestinians is creating a credibility crisis for the international community”.
Guterres explained that “Israeli accusations against us do not affect our work; we are not against anyone, but work on the basis of values and principles”, adding that “we must strengthen UNRWA’s ability to carry out its role towards Palestinians, and uphold the values of the United Nations”.
The UN Human Rights Office had previously documented more than twenty attacks by the Israeli occupation on civilians in the Gaza Strip waiting for aid.
