An Egyptian court issued a five-year prison sentence on Monday evening against Mohammed Waziry, the former manager of Lebanese artist Haifa Wehbe, after she accused him of defrauding her out of 63 million Egyptian pounds. This ruling followed several court sessions in which the defense presented arguments for Waziry’s acquittal, alongside the prosecution's presentation of the case.
The Egyptian public prosecutor initiated an investigation into the case, hearing testimony from Haifa Wehbe, who detailed her acquaintance with Mohammed Waziry. She explained that she met him in 2016 regarding her album production, before he became her manager in February 2017 through a verbal agreement while she was filming the series "Harbaya," in which she starred. Haifa informed the court that she had empowered him with special authorizations for management since then, allowing him to sign contracts and receive payments on her behalf in exchange for 10% of her earnings from each concert.
Haifa accused her former manager of embezzling 44,290,000 pounds, along with 2,127,000 dollars, which she entrusted to him for purchasing real estate units. She also claimed that he misappropriated 8.5 million pounds, the value of a unit obtained from a film producer on her behalf. In addition, there were allegations regarding funds related to artistic contracts and concerts. The Egyptian prosecution obtained a flash memory from Haifa Wehbe containing 20 audio clips of conversations between her and Waziry during various incidents. She justified the recordings as measures to protect her rights and confirm their working relationship, as well as the receipt of funds for buying real estate to invest her money.
It is noteworthy that Haifa Wehbe had filed a report against Mohammed Waziry for unlawfully obtaining 63 million pounds from her property with a general power of attorney, which permitted him to manage the amounts owed to her by producers, television channels, and some concert organizers. Earlier in August, the Egyptian court had ruled for the third time to extend Waziry's detention for 15 days after he was accused of embezzling 63 million pounds from Haifa Wehbe.
