Egyptian tycoon held for Tamim murder

Egyptian police have arrested billionaire Hisham Talaat Mustafa in Cairo two days ago for the murder of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim in Dubai in July, sources said.

A statement by Abdul Majid Mahmoud, Egypt’s Public Prosecutor, said Mustafa hired ex-cop Mohsen Munir Al Sukari, 39, to kill Tamim inside her Dubai Marina apartment in July for $2 million.

According to Arab and Egyptian media, Al Sukari admitted to investigators that Mustafa hired him to kill Tamim for $2 million after the young Lebanese singer broke up with the Egyptian tycoon.

Cairo authorities have also reportedly revoked the immunity of Mustafa, a member of the Egyptian Shoura (Consultative) Assembly and a key figure in the National Democratic Party led by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Hisham’s company, Talaat Mustafa Group, is one of the biggest and most successful property developers in Egypt.
Its shares dropped 16 per cent to 5.21 Egyptian pounds ($0.97) as reports of the indictment reached the Cairo stock market.

On Tuesday, the firm released a statement that the board of directors appointed Hisham's brother, Tarek Talaat Mustafa, as the new chairman of the company.

Tamim was found dead on July 28 at her flat on the 22nd floor flat (Number 2204) of Jumeirah Beach Residence’s Rimal Tower 1.

A few hours after the murder was discovered, Dubai police have identified Sukari as the murderer, who immediately fled the country.

Public prosecutors, who earlier issued a media gag order over the Tamim case, have lifted the ban after referring the Mustafa to the criminal court.

Egyptian media reports have said that Sukari worked as a security officer at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Al Sheikh, which Mustafa built.

The indictment says Mustafa "took part through incitement, agreement and assistance with the first defendant (Sukari) in killing the victim in revenge".

"He provided him with special information and amounts of money necessary to plan and carry out the crime," it said.

Stabbed to death

Sukari went to Tamim's apartment in Dubai on July 28 and gained access by pretending to be a representative of the company which owns the building, bringing a present and a letter of thanks from the company, the indictment said.

"He then laid into her with the knife ... cutting her main arteries and her trachea," it added.

"This was on the instigation of the second defendant in return for obtaining from him the sum of $2 million for committing this crime," it said.

Mohamed Fouad, managing director of Global Capital, said the indictment was likely to hit the whole Egyptian market.

"This will have a very serious negative effect on the company, the sector and the market," he said.

"He (Hesham Talaat Mustafa) is not just anybody. He is the head of one of the biggest companies in Egypt, one which is highly dependent on his presence," he said.

"The scope of the effect will not be clear before we know how solid the financial situation of the company is and to what extent it can survive the possibility of him being convicted. Talaat Mustafa has a huge debt portfolio and if it went down, this could cause a credit crisis," he added.

The company said in a statement that the board of directors on Tuesday appointed Hesham's brother, Tarek Talaat Mustafa, as the new chairman of the company.

Tamim, who was 30, rose to fame after wining the top prize in a television show in 1996. She married Lebanese impresario and producer Adel Matouk, who became her manager, but they later had an acrimonious divorce, media reports said.
(With additional inputs from Rania Fahmi and Reuters)