Hossam Nasser, former planning minister advisor, accused the dirty money report as being an American scheme to divert the attention of the Egyptians from the roadmap and preoccupy them with issues of less importance.
The Global Financial Integrity Organization released a report, indicating that developing countries lost about one trillion dollars due to fraud, corruption and shady business deals in 2011, which exceeds the size of the foreign aid it receives.
The report pointed out that the Middle East and North Africa saw the world’s fastest increase in dirty money generated by illicit transactions, crime and corruption. The report says illicit flows of money have increased from countries in the region to a record 31.5 percent between 2002 and 2011, a decade that contributed to the outbreak of the Arab Spring uprisings.
The sub-Saharan Africa region came in second place, with an increase of 20.2 percent over the same period.
A source at the Central Bank, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Egypt has signed the Convention on Money Laundering, and that the Central Bank monitors money transactions very closely.
Also, Amr al-Ganainy, board member of the Commercial International Bank, said the banking sector is very strong and cannot pass any dirty money operations.
“Talk about the involvement of the banks in the money transfer operations of the officials of Mubarak’s regime after the January revolution is all but rumors,” he said. “The Central Bank is closely watching all transfers at home or abroad.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
