Egypt

Presidential palaces inventory intact, says committee

The judicial committee supervising the inventory of the 25 presidential palaces in Egypt said on Monday said that no holdings, documents or artifacts are missing.

Last year, Egyptian news reports said that former President Mubarak seized a number of items before leaving for Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has resided since his ouster in February.

Judge Ahmed Idris, head of the committee, said in a press conference that the palaces are rundown and neglected, threatened to collapse or be robbed, as the contract with the company responsible for securing the palaces has terminated since Mubarak's ouster.

The committee also detected water leakages in some places and found rare collector’s items and manuscripts scattered on the floors, Idris added.

The final report of the committee revealed that only one villa was not checked, where Syrian political refugee Abdel Hamid Serraj is spending his asylum.

The committee recommended turning these palaces into museums and charging for entry in order to generate income for the state budget.

The committee found 953 Mercedes-Benzes belonging to the intelligence bureau and the armed forces, and others that were given to Mubarak by certain Arab states as gifts.

The Weights and Measures Authority said that all precious metals, including gold, silver, diamonds and precious stones, matched the documented inventory and were not changed.

The committee also found two parcels of artifacts belonging to the royal family deposited at the Central Bank, but the bank head said he did not know what was in them.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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