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Mubarak’s filthy-rich billionaire boys club

Five hated cronies of Hosni Mubarak each amassed fortunes topping $1 billion, according to military prosecutors preparing criminal cases again them in the latest government concession meant to defuse the 2-week-old Egyptian crisis.

Three of the former Cabinet ministers tried to flee the country over the weekend but were denied permission, Cairo airport sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt’s largest independent newspaper.

The paper said investigators were probing the hidden wealth of Mubarak’s allies, which ranged from the $3 billion of party insider Ahmed Ezz to the $1.2 billion of former interior minister Habib Ibrahim El-Adly.

Meanwhile, President Obama seemed to lessen US pressure on Cairo by saying Egypt is “making progress” toward a solution to the political crisis.

And the Cairo government tried to shore up one of its biggest sources of support, Egypt’s civil service, by announcing a 15 percent pay hike for 6 million government workers.