The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but the government did not consistently implement the law effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.

Corruption: The Central Agency for Auditing and Accounting was the government’s internal anticorruption body and submitted reports to the president and prime minister that were not available to the public. The auditing and accounting agency stationed monitors at state-owned companies to report corrupt practices. The Administrative Control Authority, another state institution with technical, financial, and administrative independence, had jurisdiction over state administrative bodies, state-owned enterprises, public associations and institutions, private companies undertaking public work, and organizations to which the state contributes in any form.

On January 14, authorities arrested Menoufia governor Hisham Abdel Baset and two business associates on charges of bribery. On November 12, Giza Criminal Court convicted Basset over corruption charges and acquitted the other two defendants in the same case. The court sentenced Basset to 10 years in prison and fined him LE 15 million ($850 thousand) for ordering a bribe of LE 27.45 million ($1.54 million).

On August 12, authorities sentenced the general manager of the Cairo International Airport-Quarantine to 10 years in prison on charges of receiving bribes to facilitate the import of goods.

Financial Disclosure: There are no financial disclosure laws for public officials. A 2013 conflict-of-interest law forbids government officials from maintaining any pecuniary interest in matters over which they exercise authority.

The law criminalizes a wide variety of corruption-related offenses by officials, including illicit enrichment, bribery, embezzlement, illegal procurement, insider trading, influence peddling, and nepotism. There were numerous reports of government corruption and a perception of impunity for abusers. The judicial branch investigated several cases of corruption, but there were no prosecutions during the year. The government fired 21 assistant prosecutors due to corruption allegations. The perception of corruption remained widespread in all branches of government and at all levels.

Corruption: The constitution mandates that the Senate (vice the judicial system) prosecute high-level officials and parliament members accused of corruption. As of year’s end, no government had ever prosecuted a high-level official for corruption.

In October 2017 a report by the Special Senate Committee of Inquiry on the Mismanagement of Petro Caribe Funds alleged between 2008 and 2016 the government mismanaged close to two billion dollars in Petro Caribe funds designed to develop the country. In February the Senate requested that the Administrative Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes investigate the allegations. The court was due to publish a report on the findings of its investigation in January 2019.

In August 2017 President Jovenel Moise fired Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Roosevelt Bellevue for alleged corruption related to the overinflated price of government-purchased school kits. On August 10, the Anticorruption Unit sent its report to the judiciary. The report cited numerous violations of public procurement laws by government officials and determined that the then minister of economy and finance, Jude Alix Salomon, issued an illegal waiver to justify school kit purchases. The report did not, however, support a finding of overbilling for the school kits. On August 15, the Superior Court of Audits and Administrative Disputes implicated Bellevue in the school kits affair.

Financial Disclosure: The law requires all senior government officials to file financial disclosure forms within 90 days of taking office and within 90 days of leaving office. There is no requirement for periodic reporting. Disclosure reports are confidential and not available to the public. The sanction for failure to file financial disclosure reports is a withholding of 30 percent of the official’s salary, but the government did not sanction any officials during the year or in any previous year. Government officials stated the requirement was not always followed.