CAIRO — In July 2012, Swiss public prosecutor Michael Christophe Lauber froze accounts with 700 million Swiss francs ($761 million) in Swiss banks. These funds are in the name of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and 31 of his aides, including former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli. Lauber's action was based on documents received from the Egyptian government after the January 25 Revolution, stating the funds had been illegally smuggled out of the country.

The Egyptian Ministry of Justice received an official letter June 17 from the Swiss public prosecutor’s office indicating that the investigations related to the accusation of Mubarak and his regime of joining and supporting a criminal organization had been halted following the acquittal of Mubarak and his aides by the Egyptian judiciary, but that the investigation of money laundering against Mubarak and 31 of his men was still underway and that the funds would remain frozen.

Following the Swiss decision, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a new law (No. 28/2015) June 25 on the establishment and organization of a national committee for reclaiming funds and assets abroad.

The establishment of the committee will be presided over by the Egyptian public prosecutor. The committee will include the head of the Egyptian Illicit Gains Authority as its vice president and members representing various authorities, including the Intelligence Service, Interpol, the Public Funds Investigation Department and the Administrative Control Authority.