Sunday 12/October/2025 – 06:06 PM
An incident that shook public opinion in Egypt, and its scenes witnessed a state of controversy, as H.Z., the head of the East Alexandria district, was arrested to implement a life sentence issued against him in absentia, in a previous bribery case during his assumption of the presidency of the Mahalla al-Kubra City Council in 2021.
The case of the head of the East Alexandria district…career progression despite the issuance of a ruling in absentia
The most prominent thing that sparked controversy in this incident was that the arrest of the district president accused of receiving bribery came after he was promoted to several executive positions in Alexandria Governorate, despite the issuance of a court ruling against him last April, when he was then serving as the president of the Burj Al Arab Center and City. He then assumed the presidency of the Central Alexandria District, and hours before his arrest, he was assigned to head the East Alexandria District.
In this report, Cairo 24 monitors parts of the text of the investigations with the accused district head, after he was arrested by the Administrative Control Authority in Gharbia, along with a second accused, a businessman named M.A., where the first received a bribe from the second in exchange for facilitating the completion of financial statements that the second had with the Gharbia Governorate, which was in exchange for implementing projects in the villages of the governorate.
Text of investigations with the district president accused of receiving a bribe in Alexandria
The investigations began by interrogating the district president accusing him of receiving a bribe. He denied the matter, saying: No, of course it did not happen. Then he was asked about his previous knowledge of the second accused, the businessman. His response was that he was recognized by the governor of Gharbia at the time, who invited him to his office and introduced him to him as a businessman who had previously completed projects in the governorate and had overdue financial dues. The governor asked him to assign him new construction works and write a report for him about the implementation of these works.
How did the relationship between you develop?
The relationship between us developed into a relationship of friendship, because he was a man trusted by the governor, and after that what happened was that we were sitting with many people, many of whom were people who were with us in the council, and I do not remember any of them now, and I am in financial trouble a little because my brother was tired and I needed money, and I was saying that I would offer my Kia Rio car for sale and it would pay how much, and M.A. responded to me and said that he knew of a company that could take it from me, and he knew People there He will try to complete the procedures.
He continued: Two or three days later, he responded to me and said that it would not be useful for me to take it and that he could provide me with a loan from the Export Development Bank, because he knew the director of the Export Development Bank in Tanta, and indeed after that we met with the bank director.
He added: Indeed, after that, he and the bank manager came and sat with me in Mahalla in my office in the Mahalla City Council. We spoke to each other and got to know each other, and he told me that there were no problems and that he would finish the procedures for the loan that I wanted. I was requesting a loan worth 200 thousand pounds, with the longest repayment period and the lowest installment, and they asked me for a copy of the salary details, a copy of the card, and a copy of the madam’s card, because the loan would be in my wife’s name, because I was taking a loan. Another from QNB Bank, guaranteeing my pension, and it will not be possible for me to take any other loans. In order for me to be able to take the loan, the loan must be in my wife’s name and I will be the guarantor.
Q: What happened after that?
A: How many days later he called me and said, “I hope you let the madam go now to the Export Development Bank branch in Smouha,” and he told her to go to the employee there whose name I don’t remember at the moment, and she will complete all the procedures for her and write the paper for her and we will pass it on the paper and she will hand her the card. Indeed, this was done, and at the bank they told her that within a day or two, this amount would be deposited in her account. She will withdraw them via the card they gave her, and the entire amount was supposed to be deducted at once, but she was surprised that the amount that was deducted was only 50 thousand pounds. I spoke to M.A. and he said that the amount would be deducted in parts, and I was not worried because within a week, the entire amount would be deducted in installments, and as soon as the amount was over, the bank would start deducting the installments, and indeed the money began to enter the account on the account. Payments, but nothing was deducted from my salary. The money was in the account and nothing was deducted.
Q: Did the aforementioned spend the amounts that Muhammad A. transferred to her account at the Export Development Bank?
A: I used to receive a call from Muhammad, telling me that part of the amount had been dropped and he let the madam go and spend it or withdraw it using the bank’s card.
Q: Determine for us the value of the cash amounts that were transferred to your wife’s account?
A: What was transferred to my wife’s account is about 170 thousand pounds.
Q: Did you make sure that your wife signed the Export Development Bank loan papers?
A: She went and passed on a paper and she did not know what paper it was, and I did not ask.
Q: What is your explanation for the fact that the loan amount was transferred to your wife’s personal account in random, unspecified batches without any amounts being deducted from you, and neither you nor your wife were notified of any notifications from the bank regarding that?
A: I asked MA about the rest of the amount and the reason for not deducting it in one lump sum and the reason for not deducting it from me. He told me that the entire amount would be deposited in installments and after the amount was completed the deduction would be made.
Q: Are these procedures mentioned above regarding the Export Development Bank loan similar to the procedures that occurred with you when you obtained a loan from QNB Bank?
A: The paper procedures are exactly the same, but the procedures for depositing the loan and debit amounts are different, as the entire amount was deposited in one go and the agreed-upon installments were collected from the first month. I am wrong that I did not follow the procedures and papers.
Q: What do you say about what the accused M.A. decided during the Public Prosecution’s investigations that those amounts you obtained were as a bribe?
A: No, of course
Q: What is your explanation for receiving these specific amounts of money?
A: I thought this was the loan I was talking about.
