Egypt's government is trying to freeze foreign assets held by former President Hosni Mubarak and his family – reputedly a fortune worth billions of dollars.
The national prosecutor general called on Egypt's foreign ministry Monday to ask all other nations to suspend access to any assets or accounts held by Mr. Mubarak. The freeze order also applies to the ex-president's wife, Suzanne, and their two sons and daughters-in-law.
Switzerland already has frozen Mr. Mubarak's bank accounts there, and there have been reports from other world centers about extensive property holdings controlled by the Mubarak family. Published reports estimating the size of the ousted leader's fortune have ranged from $1 billion to $70 billion, but Mr. Mubarak's attorneys have ridiculed all such accounts as wildly untrue.
Since he stepped down 10 days ago at the climax of Egypt's popular uprising, Mr. Mubarak is believed to have been at his estate in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
Egyptian authorities have previously requested a freeze on assets held by about 12 other Egyptian nationals, all officials closely linked to Mr. Mubarak.
In other developments Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first foreign leader to visit Cairo since Mr. Mubarak stepped down.
Mr. Cameron was to meet with the leaders of the military council that now governs Egypt, but British officials said he would not see members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and best-organized opposition group.
Mr. Cameron's visit to Egypt follows that of U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns.
Switzerland already has frozen Mr. Mubarak's bank accounts there, and there have been reports from other world centers about extensive property holdings controlled by the Mubarak family. Published reports estimating the size of the ousted leader's fortune have ranged from $1 billion to $70 billion, but Mr. Mubarak's attorneys have ridiculed all such accounts as wildly untrue.
Since he stepped down 10 days ago at the climax of Egypt's popular uprising, Mr. Mubarak is believed to have been at his estate in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
Egyptian authorities have previously requested a freeze on assets held by about 12 other Egyptian nationals, all officials closely linked to Mr. Mubarak.
In other developments Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first foreign leader to visit Cairo since Mr. Mubarak stepped down.
Mr. Cameron was to meet with the leaders of the military council that now governs Egypt, but British officials said he would not see members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and best-organized opposition group.
Mr. Cameron's visit to Egypt follows that of U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns.