Spain plans to hand over a close ally of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak to Egyptian authorities to face corruption charges, Egyptian state television on Monday quoted Spain's foreign minister as saying.
But neither Spain's Foreign Ministry nor the presidency office were immediately able to confirm the report and Egyptian television did not provide details or quotes from Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez.
Businessman Hussein Salem fled Egypt after the uprising against Mubarak but was detained in Spain on an international arrest warrant. "We are in the phase of receiving the documentation for the extradition hearing," one of the judges at the court that is handling the case told Reuters in Madrid.
The judge said the extradition process will still take time and that the court must rule before the government can hand Salem back to Egypt. Spanish authorities froze millions of euros (dollars) in bank accounts as well as property and luxury vehicles linked to Salem, who is under house arrest on accusations of money-laundering, which were brought in Spain and are separate from Egyptian charges, the judge told Reuters.
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