Egyptian court orders arrest of Mubarak's sons over stock manipulation

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An Egyptian criminal court ordered the arrest of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's two sons on charges of stock market manipulation, state news agency MENA reported Saturday.

Gamal and Alaa Mubarak are accused alongside three other people of failing to notify the stock market of agreements to acquire majorities in several banks through front companies.

They deny any wrongdoing.

All those accused in the case, which began in 2012, had been released on bail and barred from travel.

The court's next session is set for Oct. 20.

Hosni Mubarak was deposed during the 2011 Arab Spring, after three decades in power.

Under his father's rule, Gamal Mubarak headed a key ruling party committee and was long seen as his successor.

Older brother Alaa stayed out of politics, but is accused of having amassed a fortune through his father's contacts.

After being arrested in 2011 for a number of alleged crimes, the two sons had several spells in provisional detention. They have been free for the past three years.

Alongside their father, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were sentenced in May 2015 to three years in jail for diverting more than 11.5 million US dollars in public money to maintain presidential palaces. Their sentences were covered by time already served.

(Cover: A file picture taken on June 2, 2012, shows Alaa (R) and Gamal Mubarak, sons of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, standing inside a cage in a courtroom during their verdict hearing in Cairo. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters