January 6, 2020

The Administrative Control Authority has arrested Abdel Azim Hussein,
head of the tax authority, on charges of receiving bribes from legal
accountants.
The Finance Minister Mohammed Maait said in a press statement: “No
one is above the law and cannot cover up corruption or negligence with
any attempt to harm the state,” without clarifying the reasons for
Hussein’s arrest or the charges against him.
Hussein’s last statements were in a meeting with Maait at the authority
headquarters last Monday, where he confirmed that there was no
official figure on how much tax had been evaded.
He estimated that the number of those not registered in tax files did not
exceed 50 per cent, indicating that tax revenue represents 75 per cent of
state budget revenues.
Abdel Azim Hussein was appointed head of department for a year,
succeeding its former president, Emad Sami, in December 2018.
On December 13, the minister of finance renewed Hussein’s
appointment to head the authority for another year, and after arresting
Hussein his deputy, Reda Abdel Qadir, was appointed to temporarily
carry out the work of the authority until a new head is appointed.
The Administrative Control Authority continuously announces the
arrest of employees accused of corruption. When the former head of the
Central Auditing Agency revealed the extent of corruption in state
agencies he was overthrown from his office and sentenced to one year in
prison for allegedly publishing false news that amplified corruption.