Mubarak's Sons Released on Bail in Share-dealing Case

This combination of Jan. 6, 2011 file images shows Gamal Mubarak, left, and Alaa Mubarak, right, in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/File)
This combination of Jan. 6, 2011 file images shows Gamal Mubarak, left, and Alaa Mubarak, right, in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/File)
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Mubarak's Sons Released on Bail in Share-dealing Case

This combination of Jan. 6, 2011 file images shows Gamal Mubarak, left, and Alaa Mubarak, right, in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/File)
This combination of Jan. 6, 2011 file images shows Gamal Mubarak, left, and Alaa Mubarak, right, in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/File)

The Cairo Criminal Court on Thursday freed Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, and five others on 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($5,570) bail each in the case of illicit share trading.

The court set a new hearing for Nov. 20.

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were detained Saturday and accused along with three other people, including Hassan Heikal, of failing to notify the stock exchange of agreements to acquire majority stakes in several banks through front companies.

Four others in the group remain at large.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.