Egyptian Land Administration

The land administration carries a high corruption risk for businesses investing in Egypt. More than one-third of surveyed firms expect to give gifts to officials in return for a construction permit ( ES 2013 ). Furthermore, high-levels of corruption and legal complexity give rise to violations of property rights in Egypt's land authorities ( BTI 2014 ). Businesses rate the protection of property rights as weak ( GCR 2015-2016 ), and regulation enforcement is a problem in the sector ( CNN World, Feb. 2013). Costs in registering property are very low in Egypt compared to the MENA regional average, but the process is very time-consuming, taking more than twice as long as the regional average ( DB 2016 ).

Hesham Genena, the head of the Central Auditing Organization (CAO), revealed that around USD 3 billion was misappropriated in land deals by corrupt police officers, intelligence agencies, judges and prosecutors. However, no investigation was opened into the revelations ( Mail Online , Apr. 2014).