Former Egyptian Oil Minister Samih Fahmi has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a deal that exported natural gas to Israel below market value and cost the government over $714 million in lost revenue.
An Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem, currently being held in custody in Spain, was also given a 15-year sentence for his role in the deal. The Spanish government said in April that it would extradite him to Egypt for trial.
The deal, signed several years before President Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February 2011, provided Israel with 40 percent of its natural gas at below market rates. It was subsequently scrapped in April 2011.
Ten other Mubarak-era officials were given jail sentences of between three and 10 years and collectively fined $412 million.
