November 12, 2018 - 7:14 AM
CAIRO - An Egyptian court has sentenced a former governor to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes to award public works contracts.
In announcing the sentence Monday, the court said Hisham Abdel Basset accepted some $1.5 million in bribes while serving as governor of Menoufiya province, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Cairo. He was fined 15 million Egyptian pounds ($840,000).
The schemes involved several proposed construction and IT contracts with Egyptian businessman Essam Ahmed Fathi, who was cleared of all charges.
Abdel Basset is expected to appeal the ruling.
Conviction of top officials for bribery is rare in Egypt. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has vowed to crack down on corruption as part of a larger overhaul of the economy.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018