Egypt arrests businessman once dubbed Mubarak-era 'thug'

Egyptian authorities have arrested businessman Sabry Nakhnoukh, a notorious figure from the Hosni Mubarak era who later re-emerged in public life after receiving a pardon under the current administration.

Nakhnoukh is under investigation on suspicion of leading “an organised criminal group” accused of “imposing control, practising thuggery through force and threats and disrupting public order”, the public prosecution said in a statement on Saturday.

Prosecutors said the group allegedly used a private security company as a front for its activities, relying on money and weapons to facilitate its operations.

Nakhnoukh has long been a controversial figure in Egypt, accused by critics and activists of running a network linked to powerful individuals during longtime leader Mubarak’s rule and acting as a “baltagi” — meaning a thug or hired enforcer.

The latest investigation followed a complaint from the owner of a car dealership, who alleged that Nakhnoukh and several others stormed the premises during a financial dispute.

The complaint said an employee was assaulted and that the group seized the site’s surveillance recording device.

Prosecutors said the recording device was recovered during searches of properties linked to the businessman, as well as weapons and ammunition, five unlicensed communication devices and 10 antiquities.

They added that mobile phone checks suggested the suspects may have been involved in other crimes, including kidnapping, sexual assault and violent detention.

During the 2011 uprising that ousted Mubarak, Nakhnoukh was widely accused of deploying groups of hired thugs to attack protesters and target public buildings, prisons and police stations.

Critics said the aim was to sow fear and chaos, showing citizens that security would only return if Mubarak stayed in power.

In 2012, under the government of late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, Nakhnoukh was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of possessing illegal weapons.

He later returned to the public sphere in 2018 after he was pardoned by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who ousted Morsi in 2013 amid widespread protests.

After his release, Nakhnoukh became chairman of the Falcon Group, one of Egypt’s largest private security companies.

During Sisi’s tenure Falcon has expanded its footprint across universities, public institutions and strategic sites, securing a series of prominent contracts.

In its statement, Egypt’s public prosecution said the investigation demonstrated that “no one is above the law”, regardless of status or influence.