Egypt arrests ex-President Mubarak's sons for embezzlement Published duration 15 September 2018 Related Topics Egyptian revolution of 2011

image copyright AFP image caption Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, seen here in 2013, are accused of embezzlement

The two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have been arrested for alleged stock market manipulation.

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak are accused of breaking stock market and central bank rules, state news agency Mena reported.

The brothers - who deny any wrongdoing - will appear in court on 20 October.

The Cairo court also ordered the arrest of three others, and the defendants collectively face charges of embezzling 2bn Egyptian pound ($115m; £88m).

Both Alaa, 57, and Gamal, 54, are charged with embezzling at least 494m Egyptian pound after they decided to sell the National Bank of Egypt for profit.

Alaa is a businessman who stayed out of politics, while Gamal is a former banker who was widely viewed as being groomed to succeed his father before he was overthrown in the Arab Spring uprising in 2011.

The brothers were arrested at the time for a number of alleged crimes, and spent several spells in provisional detention.

image caption Hosni Mubarak, seen here in 2013, also spent time in prison

In May 2015, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were sentenced alongside their father to three years in jail for embezzling at least 125 million Egyptian pounds from public money that was earmarked for maintaining presidential palaces.