Switzerland froze 700 million francs tied to Mubarak's circle in 2011, and after 11 years released the last 400 million to its owners

Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for three decades until the 2011 uprising. That year Switzerland froze money belonging to Mubarak and his entourage: 700 million francs according to the NGO Public Eye, about 600 million according to the attorney general's office. The Swiss attorney general opened a money-laundering and organised-crime case against 14 suspects, including his sons Alaa and Gamal, plus 28 other people and 45 legal entities. In December 2017 Switzerland returned 32 million francs to Egypt. That money had belonged to the businessman Ahmed Ezz and was handed over after he made a deal with Egyptian authorities. More than 210 million francs were released in an earlier phase of the case. In 2016 Switzerland passed a new law to seize and return dictators' illicit wealth. Mubarak died in 2020, aged 91. On 13 April 2022 the attorney general's office closed the case without charges. It said Egyptian commissions had not answered its request for information on transfers linked to the family, and that without evidence of offences in Egypt it could not show the money was illegal. The remaining 400 million francs were to be released to their beneficial owners, who were not named. Gamal Mubarak said the decision validated the family's position after "intrusive investigations." The Swiss NGO group Alliance Sud said it showed how powerless authorities were to pursue illicit funds.