CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Aswat Masriya) – Cairo Criminal Court is set to resume Thursday the trial of former agriculture Minister Salah al-Din Helal along with three others who stand accused of bribery and corruption.

The court will be hearing testimonies of witnesses in the case.

Helal was arrested last September after he submitted his resignation to then-Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.

The cabinet submitted its resignation as well days after Helal's arrest. 

Helal's case is believed to involve high ranking officials who are accused of receiving financial bribes.

Egypt's prosecutor general Nabil Sadiq referred the defendants to criminal court last October.

According to a previous statement by the prosecution, the ministry officials demanded bribes from businessman Ayman al-Gameel, one of the defendants, in return of legalizing the procedures of 2,500 acres of land in Wadi al-Natrun. 

The bribes included membership at Ahly Sporting Club worth EGP 140,000, high-end value clothes worth EGP 230,000, two cellphones worth EGP 11,000 and a residential unit in 6th of October City priced at EGP 8.25 million, added the prosecution statement. 

Egypt ranked 94th out of 175 countries on Transparency International's 2014 corruption perceptions index which ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.