Of all the memo’s that have been revealed, one of the most inflammatory memos alleged that the Gulf countries were prepared to pay $10 billion to secure the freedom of Egypt’s deposed strongman, Hosni Mubarak.
In an article in Haaretz, the memo, written on a letterhead that only had a single palm tree and crossed scimitars above the words “top secret,” quotes an unidentified Egyptian official as saying that the Muslim Brotherhood would agree to release Mubarak in exchange for the cash “since the Egyptian people will not benefit from his imprisonment.”
Despite the document not having a date, the political state of affairs suggests it was drafted in 2012, when the Muslim Brotherhood appeared to be prepared to take power. Senior Brotherhood official Mohammed Morsi served as Egypt’s president from June 2012 to July 2013, before being ousted by the military.
It was not clear if the idea of paying the Brotherhood to secure Mubarak’s release ever everntuated into a firm offer. A handwritten note at the top left corner of the document says the ransom “is not a good idea.”
“Even if it is paid the Muslim Brotherhood will not be able to do anything regarding releasing Mubarak,” the unknown author writes. “It seems there are no alternatives for the president but to enter prison.”
Irrespective of the fact that it didn’t eventuate, the memo’s existence adds credence to the claim made in 2012 by senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat el-Shater that Saudi Arabia had offered billions of dollars in return for Mubarak’s freedom — something Saudi officials hotly denied at the time.
source:world bulletin
