Targeting Corruption, Egypt Goes After Mubarak’s Wife
Suzanne Mubarak suffers what may be a heart attack as Egyptian prosecutors prepare to level corruption charges against her
By Vivienne Walt / Cairo
Egypt’s former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak — who just three months ago was feted internationally for her charity work — suffered what may have been a heart attack on Friday after being detained in an investigation into possible corruption during the 30 years when her husband Hosni was president. By Friday evening, she had been transferred to the intensive-care unit of a military hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, and a source told al-Jazeera that she could be transferred soon to a women’s prison in Cairo.
The arrest brought roars of approval among the tens of thousands of people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as the news spread through text messages and Twitter feeds. As they have each Friday for months, demonstrators poured into the square — the heart of Egypt’s revolution in January and February — to make speeches and chant until late into the night.
The former First Lady’s pages-long resume lists honorary degrees from, among many others, Berlin Free University and the American University of Cairo, and a string of awards from Johns Hopkins University, Rotary International, and many other institutions. As First Lady, she was appointed goodwill ambassador for the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization, and was an A-list guest at world events. She was, for example, seated next to Carla Bruni at the 2008 Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. Her demise, like that of many other prominent members of her husband’s regime, seemed to offer hope of real change. “More important than the amount of money [allegedly stolen by many of the accused] is the psychological aspect,” Salwa El-Antary, former research manager at the National Bank of Egypt, the country’s biggest commercial bank, told TIME. “It means that the revolution has really succeeded. People will see that they have real authority in their country, that it is now our country.”
The sums of money, however, could be significant. Egypt’s newly-formed Illicit Gains Authority is focusing on a bank account of Suzanne Mubarak reportedly worth about $3.3 million, as well as a large house in Cairo which she owns, according to the country’s news agency Mena. Her arrest is for 15 days, allowing prosecutors to interrogate her while they determine whether to charge her in court. On Thursday the head of the authority, Essam El-Gohary, said in a statement quoted on Egypt’s Ahram Online news site that Mubarak had apparently kept an account worth about $145 million at the National Bank’s branch in Heliopolis, an upscale area of Cairo. The amount was allegedly intended for the Alexandria Library, a hugely prestigious project that had attracted large donations from U.S. patrons and others. The First Lady had been the chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the library, which tapped her high-level connections for support. It is still unclear whether the former First Lady or her husband had access to those funds. In a statement last month, Hosni Mubarak denied allegations that he has illicit funds or homes abroad.
