The Finance Ministry issued a statement denying rumors that EGP 32.5 mn have gone missing from the state coffers from the final balance of FY2014-15. The entire amount is held at the central bank, the Ministry says. The amounts, in accordance to law, were added to the central bank’s reserves in foreign currency equivalent and held in EGP for the Ministry in a temporary account used in spending to support plugging the state’s budget deficits. The Ministry said the funds were used over multiple years to spread their impact as EGP 20.3 bn were used to cover the deficit in FY2013-14, EGP 7.1 bn in FY2014-15, EGP 2.3 bn in FY2015-16, and the same policy will continue to be adopted in the current fiscal year. The Finance Ministry added that this helps reduce the government’s debt burden and improves its creditworthiness.

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