The Cairo criminal court sentenced on Saturday Egypt's former Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid in absentia five years in prison over charges of profiteering and squandering public funds.

According to state MENA news agency, the court also fined Rashid 9.385 million Egyptian pounds (around 1.57 million U.S. dollars) for illegally seizing funds from the Export Development Fund and harming national interests.

Rashid fled the country after former President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down by protests. He is one of the string of senior members of the former government found guilty over corruption which had been among the top complaints of protesters.

Rashid was referred to criminal trial for corruption late in February together with former housing minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, a member of the National Democratic Party.

Egyptian former finance minister Youssef Boutros Ghali was sentenced to 30 years in prison in absentia on corruption charges on June 4.

In May, former Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim el-Adli was sentenced to 12 years in jail, while former tourism minister Zuheir Garranah and housing minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi got five years in prison respectively.

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