Free translation of the article published in the egyptian daily newspaper “Al Wafd” of September 28th 2006 regarding
the CMA-CGM case
Court adjournment to November 9th 2006 for the debates in the corruption case of the Damietta Container Company…
Three of the accused confess to the Court
(by Assayed al-Kassas)
The penal court in Cairo witnessed a last minute rebound in the bribery and corruption case related to the Damietta Container Company, in which the third, fifth and sixth accused have recognized having committed corruption offences for which they have been charged. The main accused Ali Ahmad Saad, Chairman of the board of directors and official representative of the company, has denied any involvement in the matter.
The court presided by judge Ahmad Refaat, aided by judges Yahia Ramadan and Mohammad Assem, in the presence of Mr.Wadih Hanna Nached, president of the Public Funds Committee, and Mr.Imad Afifi, as secretary, decided to postpone the debates to November 9th 2006 in order to hear the testimony of the civil party.
The main accused, Ali Massaad, as well as the witnesses and the employees have been interrogated by the court.
The court decided the admissibility of Mistral holding’s petition (CMA’s shareholder) for temporary compensation in the amount of 5001 Egyptian pounds, for the prejudice incurred as a result of this corruption case. The court also rejected CMA’s request to reject Mistral holding’s petition.
The Public Funds Committee had previously handed over to justice the following accused: Ali Massaad Ahmad, the company’s chairman of the board of directors and legal representative of the Damietta Container Company, Maher Ahmad Almass, accountant within the same company, fugitive, Jihad Anis Dagher, employee within the Leader Group company, Nabil Elie Bassil, financial manager and administrator of the said company, fugitive, Mustapha Mohammad Khalil Abd An-Naim, manager of the Damietta subsidiary of Leader Group, as well as Jamal Abd Ar-Razzak Abd As-Sadek and Mahmoud Ahmad Yacoub; respectively to the An-Nouzha and Damietta police stations, for their proceedings between 1997 and March 2006 in asking for and collecting bribes for a value of USD 30,000 and for infringement to their duties and professional obligations.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
NEWS
Sunday Express November 19.2006
By Lawrie Holmes and Tracey Boles
NEWS
An attempt by French shipping giant CMA-CGM to acquire P&O’s US ports for $700 million (£367 million) may be scuttled by revelations that Egyptian authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of its chairman.
Reports suggested CMA-CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company, was looking to form a consortium with US investment bank Morgan Stanley to acquire the American business. American private equity firm Carlyle Group and terminal company SSA Marine have also launched a bid.
It became available earlier this year when Dubai Ports World acquired P&O and US politicians said Arab ownership of the ports was a threat to national security, forcing DP World to sell it on to another party.
But CMA-CGM’s chances of acquiring the ports will be undermined by the revelation that, in connection with corruption of port officials in Egypt, the country’s general prosecutor has issued a warrant for the arrest of its chairman, Jacques Saadé, and his brother-in-law, Farid Toufic Salem, if they set foot on Egyptian soil. Recently, Ali Massad Saad, chairman of Egypt’s Damietta cargo terminal, was arrested. For a number of years he had been paid up to $10,000 (₤5,400) a month by CMA-CGM which then tried to pay the terminal ₤1.7 million in compensation.
An order to Egyptian border police states that Saadé and Salem are ultimately responsible for the offences. “The men are to be stopped from traveling and intercepted at their arrival point in Egypt” says the order. However, CMA-CGM said Saadé had entered Egypt to meet government officials since the warrant had been issued. “The warrant has been cancelled. The magistrate said it had no substance,” said a spokesman for the company.
The US Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and Department of Justice are understood to be taking a close interest in the case.
With 20 offices in the UK and 279 ships globally, CMA-CGM has revenues of €6 billion (₤4 billion) a year.
According to sources close to the deal, DP World is preparing to make its London debut next spring. The floatation, which would see P&O return to the stock market just a year after it was sold, would value the Dubai Company at up to ₤6 billion. It is understood DP World had originally wanted the floatation to take place by the end of this year but put it back by six to 12 months while taking time to adjust to Western style corporate governance.
It is the first time the spring timetable has emerged.
The sources also said DP World wanted to divest itself of its US ports division ahead of the floatation.
The listing will offer investors a stake in the world’s biggest freight hubs and is likely to include P&O’s ports – among them Tilbury Essex and Antwerp in Belgium as well as Jebel Ali, the largest dock facility in Dubai.
By Lawrie Holmes and Tracey Boles
NEWS
An attempt by French shipping giant CMA-CGM to acquire P&O’s US ports for $700 million (£367 million) may be scuttled by revelations that Egyptian authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of its chairman.
Reports suggested CMA-CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company, was looking to form a consortium with US investment bank Morgan Stanley to acquire the American business. American private equity firm Carlyle Group and terminal company SSA Marine have also launched a bid.
It became available earlier this year when Dubai Ports World acquired P&O and US politicians said Arab ownership of the ports was a threat to national security, forcing DP World to sell it on to another party.
But CMA-CGM’s chances of acquiring the ports will be undermined by the revelation that, in connection with corruption of port officials in Egypt, the country’s general prosecutor has issued a warrant for the arrest of its chairman, Jacques Saadé, and his brother-in-law, Farid Toufic Salem, if they set foot on Egyptian soil. Recently, Ali Massad Saad, chairman of Egypt’s Damietta cargo terminal, was arrested. For a number of years he had been paid up to $10,000 (₤5,400) a month by CMA-CGM which then tried to pay the terminal ₤1.7 million in compensation.
An order to Egyptian border police states that Saadé and Salem are ultimately responsible for the offences. “The men are to be stopped from traveling and intercepted at their arrival point in Egypt” says the order. However, CMA-CGM said Saadé had entered Egypt to meet government officials since the warrant had been issued. “The warrant has been cancelled. The magistrate said it had no substance,” said a spokesman for the company.
The US Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and Department of Justice are understood to be taking a close interest in the case.
With 20 offices in the UK and 279 ships globally, CMA-CGM has revenues of €6 billion (₤4 billion) a year.
According to sources close to the deal, DP World is preparing to make its London debut next spring. The floatation, which would see P&O return to the stock market just a year after it was sold, would value the Dubai Company at up to ₤6 billion. It is understood DP World had originally wanted the floatation to take place by the end of this year but put it back by six to 12 months while taking time to adjust to Western style corporate governance.
It is the first time the spring timetable has emerged.
The sources also said DP World wanted to divest itself of its US ports division ahead of the floatation.
The listing will offer investors a stake in the world’s biggest freight hubs and is likely to include P&O’s ports – among them Tilbury Essex and Antwerp in Belgium as well as Jebel Ali, the largest dock facility in Dubai.
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