Founded 1954 | ||
The Tanta Flax and Oil Company is based in Egypt. Founded in 1954, it was owned by the Government of Egypt until sold to a private interest in 2005 at below market-price. Protests and legal actions have occurred to reverse the sale. In September 2011, a legal action to reverse the sale succeeded but failed to be implemented by the Egyptian Government during the tumultuous political environment of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and 2012–13 Egyptian protests. Failure to execute a court order to re-nationalize the company led to an Egyptian appeals court to endorse a verdict on 3 July 2013, the same day of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, to dismiss Prime Minister Hesham Qandil of his duties and sentenced him to one year in prison. In late September 2013, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court endorsed the sentence against Qandil and he was arrested on 24 December 2013. On 13 July 2014, the Court of Cassation accepted Qandil's appeal and abolished the verdict to imprison him for a year, to remove him from his job and to fine him 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($285). He was subsequently released on 15 July 2014.