CAIRO — Controversy erupted in Egypt earlier this year after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decision to detain and fire Hisham Geneina from his position as head of the Accountability State Authority (ASA), the country’s central auditing agency, on charges of publicizing false news and claims, based on the statement he made about corruption costs in state institutions reaching 600 billion Egyptian pounds ($68 billion) over four years.

Despite the fact that the head of the ASA has immunity by the constitution and the law, Sisi had issued a decree on July 9, 2015, granting himself the right to dismiss heads and members of regulatory organizations and independent bodies in case one of them commits actions that endanger the security and safety of the country.

Geneina was sentenced to a year in prison and a fine, and is now awaiting an Oct. 20 court date for a decision on his appeal.

Geneina spoke exclusively to Al-Monitor, confirming the number he announced concerning the cost of corruption and saying he possessed documents proving his claims. Geneina also attacked the fact-finding committee that was formed by the president to review the credibility of his data, as he considered the committee too biased and underqualified to review the reports of the ASA.