A government investigation into Egypt’s deadly train crash last month has uncovered a harrowing litany of criminal negligence and inefficiency that killed 20 people and injured 199.
Factors leading to the accident in March 26 in Sohag province included a train driver and assistant ignoring red lights to stop, and drug abuse, according to initial findings released by the General Prosecution’s office on Sunday.
The Health Ministry and the state railway authority said the accident happened when a train made an unscheduled stop near the station of a rural town.
Another train crashed into the back of the first train, causing two carriages to overturn. The engine of the second train was derailed.
Authorities detained the train drivers, their assistants and signal staff the day after the accident.
The statement on Sunday raised the death toll to 20 and that of the injured to 199. It said the damage was estimated at about 26 million Egyptian pounds ($1.6m).
Although rail accidents in Egypt are common, the accident in Sohag triggered an outcry over the death toll.
It also raised questions about the large sums being spent on upgrading the rail service and led to calls for harsh punishment for anyone found responsible.
One finding in the report contradicted a claim by the railway authority that the first train stopped because someone pulled the emergency brake.
Passengers, conductors and other railway employees on board told investigators they did not hear the loud noise normally produced by pulling the emergency brake. But the report did not say why the train made the unscheduled stop.
The report said the driver of the train approaching from behind and his assistant claimed that they were at the wheel at the time of the crash. The driver's assistant told investigators that light signals remained green until the point where he could see the other train 500 metres ahead. The driver of the train said he could see the other train only when he was 100 metres behind it.
The head of the regional railway control room left his office without authorisation shortly before the crash and the two employees he left in charge showed gross negligence, the report said.
“One of the two employees was late in alerting the incoming train about the other train that stopped and initially gave its driver the wrong number of the other train,” it said. “The other employee quit trying to get in touch with the driver of the incoming train. He claimed to have twice tried to reach him by telephone”, but records showed he did not make those calls.
Recordings of radio conversations showed that warnings from the control room were issued late and did not continue long enough, the report said.
Investigators found that a light signal 1.3km from the crash site was yellow, meaning the train had to slow down. Another signal nearer to the site was red.
Investigators conducted 13 simulations and all showed the approaching train could have stopped about 500 metres before the crash site if the driver had heeded the red light.
Blood tests also showed the assistant driver of the train that made an unscheduled stop and an employee at a signal tower near the spot used drugs.
The government has spent 40 billion Egyptian pounds on upgrading Egypt’s railway network in the past six years and plans to spend 141bn more in the next few years.
Authorities say more railway accidents can be expected until the overhaul is completed but that extreme caution would meanwhile be exercised, which could lead to considerable delays.
The crash was the deadliest rail accident in Egypt since February 2019, when an engine car laden with fuel hit a wall at Cairo’s main train station, igniting a fire that killed 22 and injured scores.
In 2017, two passenger trains collided in northern Egypt, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 120.
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
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Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
