CAIRO, March 6 - RAPSI. The Giza criminal court has sentenced steel magnate Ahmed Ezz to 37 years in prison for misappropriating government funds and money laundering, the court said on Wednesday.

According to the verdict, Ezz will pay 2 million Egyptian pounds ($300 million) in damages.

The investigators believe that Ezz, who owns Ezz Steel, an Egyptian industrial giant, has been illegally transferring funds to small firms registered outside Egypt to evade taxes for a decade.

As an MP from the National-Democratic Party controlled by former President Hosni Mubarak, he also transferred large amounts of money to the party's bank accounts to finance election campaigns and the party leaders' activities.

Several years ago when Mubarak was president, Ezz was accused of monopolizing Egyptian steel production and imports, but was cleared of charges after several court hearings.

After the revolution in spring 2011 when Mubarak was overthrown, the new Egyptian government grounded Ezz and froze his local bank accounts.