The properties of 150 British residents in Egypt, most of them Jews, have been sequestrated again or their businesses nationalized since President Nasser’s nationalization law of 1961, the press here reported today from Cairo.
The value of the assets involved was estimated at about 8,000,000 pounds sterling ($20,400,000). These assets were originally confiscated in 1956 after the Suez action, and technically freed under an Anglo-Egyptian agreement of February 1959. In 1961, the properties were seized again, along with those of many Egyptians.
The total bank deposits and properties affected since 1961 were officially estimated as being worth about 800,000,000 pounds ($2,040,000,000). Those owners living abroad when some of the assets were technically freed last year will not get anything. The British Embassy has raised the issue with the Egyptian Economy Ministry, and talks are expected to start soon.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.