The Cairo misdemeanor appeals court upheld on Thursday a one-year suspended jail sentence with labor against Egypt's former head of the Accountability State Authority (ASA) Hesham Geneina over charges of spreading false news about corruption in Egypt.

Under the ruling to be suspended for three years, Geneina will also be fined 20,000 EGP.

Geneina claimed that state corruption in Egypt hit EGP 600 billion in 2015.

Investigations carried out by the Supreme State Security Prosecution described Geneina's remarks on the volume of corruption in Egypt as "imprecise and inaccurate".

In March, a presidential decree dismissed Geneina from his post and appointed his deputy, Hesham Badawy, as the acting head of the ASA.

Source: MENA