Head of Sainsbury's handed 2-year in absentia jail term in Egypt

The head of a leading British supermarket chain was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison in Egypt on Wednesday.

A Cairo court ruled Mike Coupe, the CEO of Sainsbury’s, guilty of embezzlement charges relating to the company's business dealings in Egypt over 16 years.

Coupe was automatically sentenced on Wednesday because he failed to attend court hearings.

The businessman, who has led the Sainsbury’s group since 2014, earns over £900,000 ($1.3 mn) annually.

Coupe is liable to arrest and imprisonment if he travels through Egypt or any country with which it has an extradition treaty, including the US, France and South Africa, according to reports by UK daily The Times.

However, representatives for the supermarket giant rejected this claim on Wednesday, saying there are “no restrictions” on Coupe’s travel.

The allegations date back to the group’s botched attempts to break into the Egyptian market in 1999.

At the time, Sainsbury’s bought an 80 percent share in Egyptian Distribution Company (Edge), founded by Egyptian business mogul Amr al-Nasharty, and began operating in the country.

Facing a boycott by many Egyptians over allegations of price fixing, Sainsbury’s withdrew from the market in 2001 after two years of attempts and with an estimated $15.3 mn in losses.

Nasharty claims that he was forced to accept the cost of these losses, and that Sainsbury’s sold back his 80 percent share in the company without informing him that it had become insolvent.

He also says that on 15 July 2014 Coupe flew to Egypt and attempted to seize the cheques with which Nasharty had bought back his shares in Edge.

Sainsbury's said in a statement on Wednesday that Coupe was "in London carrying out his normal duties" on the day in question.

The business editor of ITV, a UK-based television channel, said on Twitter that the pair had breakfast together in London on 15 July.

Sainsbury’s has called the conviction “ridiculous,” and alleges that Nasharty bought back his shares in Edge using fraudulent cheques.

Coupe flew to Egypt on Sunday to appeal the sentence, which was originally handed down in absentia in his abscence.

Coupe was accompanied by top executives from the company as well as security staff - the UK's ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, has previously supported Coupe in the case.

This is not Nasharty’s first brush with the judicial system - the tycoon fled to London in around 2003 after a warrant was issued for his arrest in Egypt in light of a string of criminal cases.

He returned to the country in early 2012 and turned himself in.

Nasharty was sentenced to six years in prison for writing false cheques, but was later acquitted on appeal.

Egypt’s economy has been flat-lining for years, and its president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has said he wants to attract between $200 and $300 bn in investment to protect future growth.

Egypt has recently attempted to smooth the path for foreign businesses looking to invest in the country, this year introducing a new law that aims to reduce bureaucracy and make deals less vulnerable to legal disputes.