State Lawsuits Authority head leaves post without commendation due to allegations of financial misconduct

Judge Hussein Madkour left his post as head of the State Lawsuits Authority last week. But unlike other heads of official bodies who received presidential honors upon exiting their positions, Madkour exited without any celebration of his time atop the body that represents the government in court. The reason for this absence, three judicial sources within the authority told Mada Masr, is that Madkour is facing accusations of financial misconduct. The accusations involve approximately LE75 million, forcibly taken from the salaries and dues of current and former judges at the State Lawsuits Authority. The funds were used to finance commemorative events and projects that were described in an internal statement issued by the authority’s judges club board and obtained by Mada Masr as “exceeding the bounds of sound administration.” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi awarded the First Class of the Order of the Republic on Wednesday to Court of Cassation head, judge Assem al-Ghayesh, State Council head, judge Osama Shalaby and to Administrative Prosecution Authority head, judge Mohamed al-Shennawy. The three judges had reached the end of their terms upon reaching retirement age. And they exited with honors that the presidency described as being given “in recognition of their dedication and sincere efforts in serving the nation, upholding justice and developing the Egyptian judicial system.” However, Madkour was not present at the ceremony, despite the fact that he was also exiting his position upon reaching retirement age, and there was no clarification from the presidency regarding his absence or lack of an official honor. One of the judges, who is a deputy head at the State Lawsuits Authority, told Mada Masr that current and former deputies filed reports with the public prosecutor along with complaints to the Justice Ministry and a number of state agencies against Madkour, after sums ranging from LE10,000-16,000 were deducted from their salaries and financial entitlements over the past year. These deductions were allegedly made to finance commemoration events and to establish a sports club for the authority in Alexandria. The deputy head added that the relevant authorities had rejected the proposal to establish the club, but Madkour did not return the funds that he ordered deducted from approximately 4,800 judges. The three judicial sources stated that Madkour had deducted approximately LE5,000 from the salaries of a number of judges under the pretext of establishing a sports club affiliated with the authority in Alexandria and then deducted further sums to fund ceremonies honoring judges and employees. The first judge said that Madkour did not present any documents clarifying how the funds allocated for the ceremonies were spent, most notable of them was the authority’s 150th anniversary celebration held on January 27. The three judges said that since Madkour’s appointment as head of the authority in June 2025, he had prioritized preparations for the anniversary celebration in hopes to have Sisi attend. The celebration , organized by the authority under Madkour’s leadership, featured a performance by musician Omar Khairat and was attended by the justice minister. During the event, Madkour said that the State Lawsuits Authority plays a historic, national role in protecting public funds and that in just two years, the authority had successfully enforced rulings worth LE37 billion in favor of the state, after implementing new regulations and “thinking outside the box.” One of the judges noted that following the anniversary celebration, which neither the president nor the prime minister attended, judges at the authority began to question the fate of the funds deducted from their salaries and the actual cost of the event. The source added that those close to Madkour claimed the event cost around LE50 million, whereas others at the authority maintained that the cost did not exceed LE7 million. The authority’s budget department had not disclosed the actual cost of the event or how the funds deducted from the judges’ salaries and benefits were spent. The same source explained that investigative authorities conducted in June an investigation into the officials at the budget department, who acknowledged, according to the source, that the authority’s head was responsible for expenditure decisions. A second deputy head at the authority told Mada Masr that since Madkour took office in June 2025, he has deducted money from the salaries of serving judges and from  accumulated leave payments owed to retirees in order to finance multiple ceremonies honoring state officials and authority employees.. These included the anniversary celebration, a Ramadan fitar event and hosting representatives of foreign state lawsuits authorities. The source said Madkour did not provide any documentation explaining how these funds were spent or their whereabouts. Mada Masr tried to contact Madkour by phone but received no response as of the time of publication. One deputy head noted that judges’ anger with Madkour’s policies was translated into legal action several weeks ago, when the authority’s former deputy, judge Rafiq Sherif, filed a report with the public prosecutor against the budget department’s head. This was followed by the opening of several, still ongoing, investigations of different authority employees. According to a copy of the report obtained by Mada Masr, Sherif said that LE10,000 were deducted, without explanation, from his accumulated leave financial entitlement. He added that upon inquiring  about the reason he had not received his full entitlement, the budget department head informed him there were instructions from  Madkour to deduct this amount without providing justification. Notably, Madkour honored Sherif during the authority’s 150th anniversary celebration as one of its distinguished former deputies. Sherif retired in 2019 and is one of the authority’s most prominent figures, having represented the government before the Supreme Administrative Court in 2016, defending Saudi sovereignty over the Tiran and Sanafir islands, arguing for the annulment of the administrative court’s ruling invalidating the maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia. In addition to the legal proceedings, the board of directors of the authority’s judges social club issued an internal statement on July 1, outlining the details of four incidents attributed to Madkour. First page of an internal statement released by the board of directors of the lawsuits authority’s judges club and obtained by Mada Masr. The statement, obtained by Mada Masr, said that after taking over as authority head, Madkour requested that the board provide LE4 million for the authority’s 150th anniversary, while also asking branch clubs to contribute — the Alexandria branch was asked for LE3 million. “Despite our objections, after we were informed that the ceremony would be under the patronage of the president of the republic, we considered the club’s contribution to raising the profile of the authority and presenting it in a manner befitting its status, and, therefore, we agreed to contribute those sums,” the statement read. The board explained that, although the event took place without the president in attendance, the funds had not been accounted for, and the club’s management had not received any documents explaining how these amounts were spent, despite requesting them more than once. The statement also indicated that the board later rejected another request from Madkour to fund a special celebration for the authority’s employees and cover their bonuses from the club’s budget. This refusal led to the celebration’s cancellation. The third financial incident outlined in the statement involved Madkour’s request to contribute LE3 million to establish an authority sports club in Alexandria. The board rejected this request and formally registered its objection in an official memorandum submitted to the authority’s supreme council, which was chaired by Madkour. The statement clarified that the board agreed to release the money only after the signing of a protocol stipulating that the payment would constitute an interest-free loan, which the proposed sports club would later repay to the authority’s judges club in order to safeguard the rights of the club’s members and avoid escalating the dispute with the authority head. According to the statement, the board refused to approve the funds before the fulfilment of the legal and financial requirements stipulated in the club’s bylaws, and Madkour then referred it to the technical inspection department and threatened to dissolve the board of directors and impose penalties on its members if they continued to refuse the payment. The statement further added that, after the board maintained its position, club members’ subscription payments were transferred to a different financial account against the board’s wishes. The board considered this an infringement on its financial and administrative independence, noting that judicial clubs fall under the Social Solidarity Ministry, and the authority’s role is limited to supporting their budgets, not withdrawing from them. The fourth incident, according to the statement, involved Madkour’s request for  LE15 million to fund a real estate company to develop a housing project for authority judges. The board refused due to incomplete technical and legal documentation necessary to establish the company’s actual entitlements and as the company had previously been issued with official warnings regarding incomplete work. The statement added that after the refusal, Madkour referred the board of directors to the judicial inspection department. According to the statement, Madkour then decided to dissolve the board and form a committee to supervise the main club and its branches, in violation of the club’s bylaws. The board considered this an infringement on the will of the club’s general assembly who had elected the board’s members. The lawsuits judges club head, Hassan Abu Rahab, said the board will continue carrying out its duties until the authority’s new head rules on the grievances it had submitted against his predecessor’s decisions. Regarding the incidents outlined in the board’s statement, Abu Rahab told Mada Masr he was bound by a directive issued on July 1 by the authority’s new head, judge Abdel Nasser Abol Azm, prohibiting comments on the matter. On June 30, Sisi issued four presidential decrees appointing new heads of judicial authorities and bodies, after their predecessors reached the retirement age of 70. The decrees appointed judge Rabie Labna as head of the Court of Cassation, judge Mahmoud Aboul Dahab as head of the State Council and judge Abdel Nasser Aboul Azm as head of the State Lawsuits Authority, succeeding Madkour. Additionally, judge Hoda Eissa was appointed as head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority. The new heads took the constitutional oath before the president on the same day and assumed their duties on Wednesday. Immediately after taking office, Aboul Azm issued what he called “a comprehensive reminder and binding directive” instructing State Lawsuits Authority judges to refrain from publishing, reposting or broadcasting any media materials or recordings related to the authority or its members, whether originating from within or outside the authority and to delete any such previously published material from social media platforms and ensure all traces are removed. Statement released by the current head of the State Lawsuits Authority, Abdel Nasser Aboul Azm, after his appointment. The directive stated that any judge would bear legal and professional responsibility for any content they publish, repost, comment on or interact with, whether attributed to them or issued through their social media accounts. The notice made no reference to the allegations against his predecessor, merely noting that recent days saw successive waves of news, video clips and audio recordings flooding social media platforms in a manner that affected the prestige of the authority. Aboul Azm stressed that “prestige is safeguarded. Dignity is a fortress. And the honor of [the authority’s] members is a red line that must not be crossed.” The post State Lawsuits Authority head leaves post without commendation due to allegations of financial misconduct first appeared on Mada Masr .