North Cairo Criminal Court on Thursday ordered the release of steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz on a LE100 million bail.
The court also decided to stop the retrial of another pending case against Ezz on charges of money laundering until a verdict is reached in the steel licence and Dekheila cases, as these are directly related to the money laundering case.
His lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, had requested the release of his client based on the fact that the detention order has not been implemented since October 2011, pointing out that Ezz was detained for other cases.
Verdicts against Ezz ranged from three to 10 years in prison, in addition to financial penalties from tens of millions to one billion pounds.
The Court of Cassation had overturned a previous ruling by the Criminal Court sentencing Ezz to seven years in prison, with a fine of LE19 billion for money laundering, profiteering and seizing public funds.
The Court of Cassation ordered his retrial before another constituency.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
