CAIRO, Sept 2: Egyptian tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa was charged on Tuesday with paying two million dollars for the brutal killing of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim, reportedly his one-time lover.

Mustafa was arrested and charged with ordering the murder of Tamim at her upmarket flat in Dubai in July, Egyptian prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.

Tamim, 30, who rose to fame after winning a Lebanese talent show in 1996 but recently had disappeared from the public eye, was stabbed several times and her throat cut, allegedly by a retired policeman paid by Mustafa.

Mustafa, a stalwart of the ruling National Democratic Party and member of the Shura Council, Egypt’s upper house of parliament, runs the Talaat Mustafa Group real estate conglomerate worth several billion dollars.

He is also said to be close to President Hosni Mubarak’s son and heir apparent Gamal.A judicial source said Mustafa, who was born in 1959, had been arrested and was being held pending trial.

Talaat Mustafa Group said it had appointed Tarek Talaat Mustafa, Hisham’s brother, chairman of the board and chief executive officer.

“The decision comes after a meeting of the board which took place today (Tuesday) and was unanimously approved,” the group said in a statement.

Retired Egyptian policeman Mohsen al-Sukkari has been arrested and charged with carrying out the murder, the prosecutor said. Local media said Sukkari worked as a security contractor for various Egyptian companies.

Both men could face the death penalty if convicted.

Mustafa allegedly paid Sukkari two million dollars to go to Dubai and stake out her flat from a hotel room. He bought a knife, went to her flat saying he worked for the building owner and stabbed the singer to death when she opened the door, the prosecutor said.

Tamim’s life had been marred by domestic disputes, including a rocky marriage with her second husband and agent who had accused her in 2004 of being behind an attempt on his life.

Egyptian media said Tamim had a relationship with Mustafa over a three-year period which ended several months ago. The singer then left Egypt for London before moving to Dubai.

In August, an edition of Egyptian daily Al-Dustur was seized after it said an unidentified “important Egyptian figure” was involved in the murder.

The article alleged that a former Egyptian police officer as well as two hotel security officials had confessed to killing the singer for an Egyptian client.

According to the prosecutor, Sukkari confessed to Mustafa’s involvement in the case after his arrest.

Mohammed Sayed Said, editor of the independent Al-Badil newspaper, described the move by the often discredited Egyptian judiciary as “a very smart move” amid billowing rumours over Mustafa’s relationship with the regime.

“I think at least it will mend fences and improve the credibility of the regime,” Said said. “This shows the state is still keen to implement the law, but we have to see what will be the end result. There is still the suspicion that a court that may be inclined to declare him innocent can be used, which would be very damaging indeed,” he said, pointing to the July acquittal of most suspects for a 2006 ferry sinking in which more than 1,000 people died.

Mustafa is the youngest son of the founder of the group of 30 companies, Talaat Mustafa, according to the company website.—AFP