Egypt’s Prosecutor General on Wednesday ordered the detention of 29 individuals over accusations of espionage for the Turkish security and intelligence, the state-owned news agency MENA reported.
According to the prosecutor, the 29 individuals illegally facilitated international calls made by people in Egypt through Turkish-based servers offered at discounted charges.
The prosecution’s statement said the Supreme State Security Prosecution oversaw investigations that revealed that the defendants formed a network with fugitive members of the Muslim Brotherhood abroad to monitor and record phone calls of Egyptian citizens to gauge their views on the situation in the North African nation.
Investigations have also confirmed that profits gained from illegal overseas calls were used in establishing media entities.
Parts of the statement also indicated that investigations have also unveiled several corporations that were used as a cover for the money laundered from the communications with the Turkish security and intelligence services, easing their transfer to the Muslim Brotherhood to enable them to carry out their plans against the Egyptian state.
Several computer monitors with remote surveillance and control systems were confiscated in addition to miniature spyware devices such as video and audio recorders, the statement affirmed
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been tense since the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkey.