The Egyptian security services managed to detain a man at the Cairo airport who was trying to smuggle foreign money worth more than 143,000 US dollars.
Ashraf Nagy, a lawyer in the cassation instance, explained the fate of the accused and the punishment established by the Criminal Code for trading in foreign currency and its smuggling outside the country. Nadji says the Penal Code imposes severe prison sentences and fines on anyone tempted to trade foreign exchange and smuggle foreign exchange outside the country, as well as confiscation of funds due to their impact on the country’s economy as a whole. Not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years, and a fine of not less than one million pounds and not more than 5 million pounds, or the financial amount of the crime, or whichever is greater. The lawyer added that “he will be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than 6 months and not more than 3 years, as well as a fine of one million to 5 million pounds for anyone who violates any of the provisions of articles 111, 113, 114 and 117 of the Special Criminal Code”. Regulation of Foreign Exchange Transactions, No. 88 of 2003.
Provided that “any person who violates any of the provisions of Article 116 of this Law shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months and a fine not less than the amount of money seized at the crime scene and not more than 4 times more than this amount”, or “he will be punished with one of two penalties, and in all cases the sums and objects concerned will be confiscated and a decision will be made to confiscate them, and if they are not arrested, an additional fine will be imposed in the amount of their value. Naji explained that the new punishment, which specializes in tougher penalties, stipulates that “he is liable to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of at least 3 years and at most 10 years, and a fine equal to the amount in question.” And the Police General Administration Cairo Air Port arrested the owner of a computer parts company living in Giza, and he was found to have foreign currency amounts estimated at 143,100 thousand US dollars, 91,350 thousand euros, and he hid them inside frozen birds, chickens, after as he completed his travel procedures. To a foreign country, and when confronted by him, he admitted ownership of the confiscated amounts, and legal action was taken, and the prosecutor’s office took over the investigation and ordered his detention for 4 days.
