Three of the accused confess to the Court

Free translation of the article published in the egyptian daily newspaper “Al Wafd” of September 28th 2006 regarding
the CMA-CGM case




Court adjournment to November 9th 2006 for the debates in the corruption case of the Damietta Container Company…
Three of the accused confess to the Court
(by Assayed al-Kassas)

The penal court in Cairo witnessed a last minute rebound in the bribery and corruption case related to the Damietta Container Company, in which the third, fifth and sixth accused have recognized having committed corruption offences for which they have been charged. The main accused Ali Ahmad Saad, Chairman of the board of directors and official representative of the company, has denied any involvement in the matter.

The court presided by judge Ahmad Refaat, aided by judges Yahia Ramadan and Mohammad Assem, in the presence of Mr.Wadih Hanna Nached, president of the Public Funds Committee, and Mr.Imad Afifi, as secretary, decided to postpone the debates to November 9th 2006 in order to hear the testimony of the civil party.

The main accused, Ali Massaad, as well as the witnesses and the employees have been interrogated by the court.
The court decided the admissibility of Mistral holding’s petition (CMA’s shareholder) for temporary compensation in the amount of 5001 Egyptian pounds, for the prejudice incurred as a result of this corruption case. The court also rejected CMA’s request to reject Mistral holding’s petition.

The Public Funds Committee had previously handed over to justice the following accused: Ali Massaad Ahmad, the company’s chairman of the board of directors and legal representative of the Damietta Container Company, Maher Ahmad Almass, accountant within the same company, fugitive, Jihad Anis Dagher, employee within the Leader Group company, Nabil Elie Bassil, financial manager and administrator of the said company, fugitive, Mustapha Mohammad Khalil Abd An-Naim, manager of the Damietta subsidiary of Leader Group, as well as Jamal Abd Ar-Razzak Abd As-Sadek and Mahmoud Ahmad Yacoub; respectively to the An-Nouzha and Damietta police stations, for their proceedings between 1997 and March 2006 in asking for and collecting bribes for a value of USD 30,000 and for infringement to their duties and professional obligations.