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1st LD: Egypt's supplies minister resigns over corruption

Xinhua, August 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Egyptian Supplies Minister Khaled Hanafy resigned Thursday amid sharp criticism over corruption charges related to wheat purchases and expenses.

The minister has been facing charges of using millions of dollars allocated for subsidies to purchase wheat that existed only on papers in the most populous Arab country and the world's largest wheat importer.

A parliamentarian, also a presenter of a TV show, has also been accusing Hanafy of wasting 7 million Egyptian pounds (around 800,000 U.S. dollars) in staying in a luxurious hotel in Cairo since he took office in 2014. The minister said he paid for it from his own money, not the state's.

"Experience showed that assuming an official post is no longer a privilege but a burden," Hanafy said in a statement after resignation, stressing that most of the issues raised against him were personal and exaggerated.

"I announce with all credibility and consent leaving my post so that the state can choose who will bear and continue the path of giving and reform," the ex-minister told reporters. Endit