Egypt’s Chief Corruption Auditor Placed Under House Arrest

Hisham Geneina has been removed from his post as head of the Central Auditing Authority

ENLARGE

Hisham Geneina, pictured in April 2014. He said last year that fighting corruption was as important to Egypt’s stability as fighting terrorism. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By 

TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and

DAHLIA KHOLAIF

CAIRO—Egyptian authorities have placed the country’s chief corruption watchdog under house arrest, his lawyer said, days after he was dismissed by the president following his allegations of widespread government graft.

A decree by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Monday removed Hisham Geneina from his post as head of the government’s Central Auditing Authority. It gave no explanation for the move.

Mr. Geneina, a former police officer and judge, now has plainclothes police officers stationed outside his home, his attorney, Ali Taha, said in an interview. The police have confiscated his phone as well as those of his family and are turning away any visitors, the lawyer added. However, no formal order for his house arrest has been issued.

Read more