Egyptian tycoon faces treason charges after accusing Sisi of corruption

An Egyptian film producer and businessman is facing accusations of treason after blowing the lid over- what he alleges- is corruption at the very highest levels of the Egyptian army.

Mohammed Ali, who has fled to Spain fearing repercussion, says the Egyptian military embezzled millions of dollars from projects, which they did not pay him for. He says he is still owed $13.3m by the Egyptian military for work he carried out.

He added that Egypt’s military rulers had wasted billions on projects that served no economic purpose but helped line the pockets of those in charge.

They include a five-star hotel in a sparsely populated of Cairo with no immediate tourist attractions in its vicinity, as well as a palace built for a visit by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el Sisi to the coastal city Alexandria with his wife, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

Ali, who says he spent 15 years working with the military, made the accusations in a video posted on social media that has since gone viral.

Since fleeing, the Egyptian media has targeted Ali as a charlatan and sympathiser of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

According to the London-based New Arab, an Egyptian lawyer has filed a case accusing Ali of high treason, as well as “spreading false news to mislead public opinion.”

The businessman has dismissed the idea that he was ever a sympathiser of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned by the Egyptian regime after a bloody coup orchestrated by Sisi.

Around a third of Egyptians live below the poverty line and corruption is believed to be one of the biggest drivers of January 2011 uprising, which brought down former President Hosni Mubarak.

The main beneficiaries of such corruption are mostly individuals linked to the military.

Egypt’s armed forces are estimated to control around 3 percent of the country’s GDP and have stakes in businesses as varied as waste management, grocery stores, cement production and construction.