Arrest warrant issued for Egypt's Chief Auditor

A senior judicial source has confirmed that the Egyptian Attorney General on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Hisham Geneina, the head of the Central Auditing Authority.

Hisham Geneina is charged with allegedly publishing false information concerning corruption cases against prominent Egyptian politicians and businessmen in 2015 involving funds of up to 600 billion pounds.

He has also been removed from his position as Egypt's Chief Auditor.

As Chief Auditor, Hisham Geneina was known for his outspoken criticism of government corruption, revealing squandered funds during both the administrations of Mohammad Morsi and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

Appointed to head the Central Auditing Committee by Morsi, Geneina has been the target of a media campaign accusing him of sympathising with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Geneina told Mada Masr last July that the smears were perpetrated by an extensive clique of businessmen and officials, who form a "network of corruption".

Last year, a new law in Egypt was passed that allowed the president to remove heads of supervisory bodies if they posed a "threat to national security" or failed to carry out their duties.

Egyptian media speculated that the law was passed in an attempt to oust Geneina from his position.

The Central Auditing Committee was established in 1942 to monitor state spending. After the Egyptian uprising in 2011 the institution was reformed from within, and led investigations into Mubarak-era corruption.

Many of the cases have since been dropped or settled out of court.

Geneina alleged that the cases were settled due to corruption in the judiciary and the Judges Club, then headed by Ahmed al-Zend, who was recently dismissed from his position following his claim that he would arrest the Prophet Mohammed if he broke the law.