[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted Habib el-Adly [JURIST archive], former Interior Minister under Hosni Mubarak [BBC profile], of the final case of corruption pending against him [Ahram Online report]. El-Adly had been accused of using his political influence to acquire approximate 181 million Egyptian pounds (USD $23 million). El-Adly’s lawyer told Ahram Online that this acquittal is “paving the way for his release.”

Thursday’s acquittal is the latest in a string of acquittals for Habib el-Adly. In February the Cairo Criminal Court acquitted [JURIST report] el-Adly and Mubarak-era Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif of “squandering public funds and profiteering” after allegedly making an illegal deal with German Company UTSCH to sell license plates for higher than market value. Last June an Egyptian court acquitted [JURIST report] el-Adly of charges that he ordered police officials to find prospective top-paying buyers for land he personally owned. In February 2013 a court upheld [JURIST report] a three-year sentence for el-Adly for taking advantage of his political position and forcing police recruits to work on his private property. In February 2012 prosecutors argued [JURIST report] that should el-Adly be put to death along with Mubarak for the 2011 protester killings. In August 2011 court proceedings broke down [JURIST report] due to defense misconduct during el-Adly’s trial for the killing of pro-democracy demonstrators. The disruption came one month after the trial judge ordered [JURIST report] a nine-day postponement of the trial. In July 2011 el-Adly was convicted [JURIST report] and sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in granting a no-bid government contract that ultimately wasted USD $15 million in public funds.