Egypt asked the US to freeze the assets of about 100 former officials involved in corruption cases, Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's Ambassador to the US, said on Friday.
The judicial authorities in Egypt requested, through the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., that the US freeze the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family in the US, Shoukry said in a statement to state-run news agency MENA.
Shoukry added that the Egyptian Embassy referred the request to the relevant American authorities.
He confirmed that the embassy is following developments in the investigations.
Shoukry said that the US prefers to deal with the Egyptian Justice Ministry through the American Embassy in Cairo rather than the Egyptian Embassy in the US because US authorities find it easier to work with the Egyptian Justice Ministry on investigations.
He explained that this does not prevent the Egyptian Embassy from following up on investigations in the US periodically to make sure dialogue between the American and Egyptian sides is proceeding smoothly.
Shoukry expected that Egypt will receive a response to the latest request when the US authorities are satisfied that the legal requirements have been met for them to freeze the requested assets.
