The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court, held in the Fifth Settlement, sentenced Egyptian businessman Amir al-Hilali, known in the media as the “car restorer,” to two years’ imprisonment and forced labor, fined him court costs, set bail of 300,000 pounds to suspend the execution, and ruled that the civil case would be referred to the competent court.
The judgment was handed down in one of several cases filed against al-Hilali on charges of fraud, fraud and seizing people’s money by claiming to import foreign cars at prices far below local market prices.
Investigation revealed that the defendant used the name of his company and its luxurious headquarters in Settlement 5 to trick victims into believing that he could offer them imported cars (such as Mercedes) at attractive prices, without handing over the car or refunding the money, in exchange for advance payment in foreign or local currency.
The “automotive rest house” crisis dates back to 2023-2024, when Amir al-Hilali founded the “Rumans Group” company, which advertised itself as a company specializing in importing cars at competitive prices. By the time he fled the country in mid-2025, he was able to collect huge amounts of money from hundreds of clients, estimated at around £2 billion, according to victims’ lawyers.
organized fraud techniques
According to the investigation, the company used systematic fraud methods, including offering purported authorized distributorship contracts, deceiving customers about the existence of customs facilities and relationships with outside distributors, paying some victims to attract new customers in exchange for promises of additional discounts, and issuing post-dated checks with no balance to seriously deceive victims.
Al-Hilali has previously been sentenced in absentia in several similar cases, including a three-year prison sentence for dishonored checks and a three-year prison sentence on £500,000 bail. After his escape, his name was placed on the watch list and arrival list. He was subsequently arrested in the UAE in June 2025 and handed over to Egyptian authorities through coordination between Interpol and the Ministry of Public Prosecution and International Cooperation.
Al-Hilali is currently facing approximately 50 cases of fraud, fraudulent checks, and illegal human trafficking, and based on the total cases proven so far, the total sentence handed down against him so far is estimated to be approximately 35 years in prison.
