Hardly surprising

From The Daily Mail:

Half a billion pounds of European taxpayers' money donated to Egypt to fight corruption has disappeared, according to a report by EU auditors.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA), which audits the accounts of EU institutions, found the money had 'failed to tackle' key human rights issues in the country. The Luxembourg based group also found the aid had not helped to improve the rights of women and minorities or fight corruption.

It looked at the past five years of EU aid to Egypt, which amounted to more than €1 billion.

The report paid particularly close attention to the 60 per cent of EU aid to Egypt - worth £500 million over five years - which is handed over to support its state budget. The auditors found that there was no trace of how that money had been spent.

Of course, what the ECA doesn't appear to be asking is whether the EU officials concerned actually wired the money to the Egyptian government in the first place or whether they just got their opposite numbers in Egypt to sign a receipt and then split the winnings between themselves.