By IRNA,
Berlin : The military government in Egypt has asked Germany to freeze the assets of leading officials of the deposed Mubarak regime, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in Brussels Tuesday.
Such a legal request has been sent to European Union member states, including Germany, said Schaeuble on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers in the Belgian capital.
We will review the request and will make a decision at short notice, he added.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the Egyptian government’s request for blocking the assets of members of the country’s former ruling elite did not include former president Hosni Mubarak or his family.
‘EU member states have received a request from the foreign minister of Egypt yesterday for the freezing of assets of some high-ranking officials … but not for former president Mubarak and his family,’ Maja Kocijancic told reporters.
There had been conflicting reports on Monday whether the EU bloc would sanction Mubarak, whose assets have already been frozen by Switzerland.
The EU is discussing the possibility of blocking all assets of the Mubarak regime in the 27 member states.
Estimates of Mubarak’s wealth hidden abroad range up to tens of billions of dollars.
Mubarak resigned Friday under pressure from an unprecedented popular uprising, ending his 30-year rule.
The ex-Egyptian dictator and his associates are now facing an investigation on corruption charges.