Raymond Lakah - Egyptian Parliament

Egyptian Parliament

In November 2000 Lakah was elected to the Egyptian Parliament at the relatively young age of 40. His election raised the question of the legality of dual nationals holding government offices since Lakah was a national of both Egypt and France. In January 2001, the Minister of Interior officially declared that his election in 2000 was invalid. Discussions about his financial debts, which had started before his election, also intensified.

His indebtedness amounting to 1.2 to 1.4 billion Egyptian Pounds with many government bankloans in Egypt unpaid. When law suits were filed against him, he fled Egypt and settled in France. In August 2001, a court verdict in Egypt ruled that he could not be a member of the Egyptian Parliament due to his dual nationality. In October 2004, the Egyptian parliament installed a new rule that dual nationals are not allowed to serve in the parliament.

Lakah was once interviewed on AlJazeera satellite TV channel, bringing with him what he said is evidence that charges against him were politically motivated. The interview was cut short and Lakah stormed out of the studio .

Lakah maintains that all his debts were paid off.

In France, he took the name Raymond, instead of his Arabic birth name Rami, and started establishing himself in several business ventures, including Star Airlines, and in October 2004 he bought the France Soir newspaper.