An Egyptian court on Thursday handed Egypt’s former chief auditor one year imprisonment on charges of spreading false news for his earlier statements about the cost of corruption in the country.
The court also ordered Hisham Genena, who was first referred for trial in June, be handed a €20,000($2,250) fine.
He was also ordered to pay a €10,000 bail, pending an appeal before a higher court.
In December 2015, Genena, the then head of the anti-graft watchdog, the Central Auditing Agency, said in a press interview that corruption had cost Egypt 600 billion pounds (around 67.6 billion dollars) that year.
Later, he said he was misquoted, adding that the estimate covered four years.
In March, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi sacked Genena, after a fact-finding committee accused the former judge of inaccuracies and misleading the public.
The opposition at that time condemned Genena’s dismissal, claiming it was aimed at muzzling dissent.