Mubarak banned from leaving Egypt, assets frozen

Cairo: Egypt today put a freeze on the assets of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family and imposed a travel ban on him and his clan, two weeks after a mass uprising threw out his regime.

The general prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmud ordered the financial assets inside the country of Mubarak and his family members be frozen, Al Jazeera reported.

The move comes close on the heels of an order seeking the freezing of the family's financial assets in foreign countries, following which the foreign ministry approached foreign governments and financial institutions.

The order also imposed a travel ban on the former president and his family pending further investigation.

The ban would apply to wife Suzanne, and his two sons Ala and Gamal, and their wives.

Mubarak was forced to step down on February 11 after being at the helm of the country for 32 years. He left the capital Cairo and headed to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Mubarak is believed to have amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune but his legal aides have termed the reports about his wealth as groundless rumours.

While Switzerland froze Mubarak's assets within hours of his resignation, France too accepted Egyptian Foreign Ministry's request for an asset ban.