Egypt Accuses 2 Former Officials of Wasting $9 Mn

A port affiliated with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports in Egypt. (Egyptian government)
A port affiliated with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports in Egypt. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Accuses 2 Former Officials of Wasting $9 Mn

A port affiliated with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports in Egypt. (Egyptian government)
A port affiliated with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports in Egypt. (Egyptian government)

Two former officials at Egypt’s General Authority for Land and Dry Ports have been accused of wasting $9 million by purchasing unnecessary insurance devices for the ports.

The Administrative Prosecution Authority referred the former officials to disciplinary trial.

The former head of the Central Administration of Land Ports of the Authority, and the former chairman of the Board of Directors are alleged to have purchased 188 insurance devices, even though the ports only needed 120. The additional 68 devices were valued at $9 million.

According to a statement, the head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority, Adly Gad, issued his decision after a report from the port authority to determine the responsibility of the Authority’s specialists for purchasing insurance devices.

Each of the two former officials prepared reports claiming the authority needed 188 insurance devices and concluding a contract with a company to purchase them, estimated at over $27 million.

They were also accused of violating the established contracting procedures by not obtaining the approval of the prime minister before concluding the agreement. Additionally, the contracts were written in English, not Arabic, which is also a violation of the applicable regulations.

In an attempt to redress the losses, the Authority agreed with the supplier to cancel the contract 23 devices which were not dispatched and delivered. It returned two devices to the supplier and sold 25 to Egyptian Airports and Cairo Airport.

The Authority was left with 18 devices, worth $2 million.



Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

 Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
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Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

 Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)

The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by the ISIS group have been found in a remote Syrian town in a search led by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday.

The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find.

Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by ISIS militants who had controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq for half a decade. The extremist group lost most of its territory in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019.

Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people ISIS had abducted over the years.

American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by ISIS.

John Cantlie, a British correspondent, was abducted alongside Foley in 2012, and was last seen alive in one of the extremist group's propaganda videos in 2016.

The search took place in the town of Dabiq, near Syria's northern border with Türkiye.

Mass graves have also found in areas previously controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was ousted in a lightning insurgency last December, ending his family's half-century rule. For years, the Assads used their notorious security and intelligence agencies to crack down on dissidents, many who have gone missing.

The United Nations in 2021 estimated that over 130,000 Syrians were taken away and disappeared during the peaceful uprising that began in 2011 and descended into a 13-year civil war.