Mubarak's closest aide detained over illegal gains

The Egyptian judiciary ordered on Thursday that the former chief of staff to ousted president Hosni Mubarak be detained for 15 days in an investigation into allegations of illegal gains, the state news agency reported.

Zakaria Azmi, who was one of Mubarak's closest aides, was questioned this week by Essam al-Gawahri, a senior Justice Ministry official heading a committee in charge of uncovering corruption during Mubarak's 30-year rule. Azmi is one of a series of officials to be investigated.

On Monday Egypt froze Azmi's assets along with those of two other top officials in a move to meet a demand of reformers seeking tough action against figures of the past administration, according to Reuters.

Reformers who drove the mass street protests that forced Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11 have demanded tougher steps to recover assets they say Mubarak and others took from the state.

Egypt's public prosecutor had earlier ordered auditing and supervisory authorities to investigate claims made against some former politicians.