'Mubarak began moving assets to Gulf states weeks ago'
Senior Western intel official to 'The Telegraph': "If he had real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now"; Gamal Mubarak center of family's wealth.
By JPOST.COM STAFFDeposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 311 AP(photo credit: AP)A senior Western intelligence official alleged that deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak began moving his family's assets from European banks to Persian Gulf countries several weeks ago, The Telegraph reported Sunday."We're aware of some urgent conversations within the Mubarak family about how to save these assets," the official told The Telegraph. "We think their financial advisers have moved some of the money around," he added, "If he had real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now."RELATED:'Mubarak's defiance surprised US and threatened chaos'Head of Egypt military discusses constitutional legitimacySuggesting that Mubarak's suspected bank transfers were inspired by deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had his assets frozen by European banks after fleeing to Saudi Arabia, the US intelligence source said: "There's no doubt that there will have been some frantic financial activity behind the scenes," according to the report."They can lose the homes and some of the bank accounts, but they will have wanted to get the gold bars and other investments to safe quarters," he told the London-based paper.Middle East specialist for the anti-corruption group Transparency International Arwa Hassan speculated to The Telegraph that the Mubarak family's financial wealth is centered around the deposed president's son and one-time expected successor, Gamal Mubarak. "It was really common for Gamal Mubarak to approach a successful business and say, make me a partner in your business," she said.Click here for full Jpost coverage of unrest in Egypt
