Egypt agriculture minister quits, arrested in corruption probe 

Egypt's Agriculture Minister Salah Halal at his office in Cairo this March (AFP)

Monday 7 September 2015
Officials in the country's agriculture ministry are alleged to have taken bribes to help businesspeople illegally acquire state land 

Egypt's agriculture minister was arrested in Cairo on Monday after being told to resign in connection with an investigation into corruption at his ministry, judicial and media sources said.

Salah Halal "resigned on the orders of the president," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

He was detained on leaving the premier's office, a judicial source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

"He was arrested as part of an investigation into a major case of corruption in his ministry," the official MENA news agency reported.

Officials at the ministry are alleged to have taken bribes to help businessmen illegally acquire state land, a prosecution official and media reports said.

Last week, the prosecution service banned media from publishing any information about the case.