The Egyptian agricultural minister, Salah el-Din Helal, was detained after a meeting in the prime minister's office and "resigned on the orders of the president," a statement from the premier's office said.

"He was arrested as part of an investigation into a major case of corruption in his ministry," Egypt's official news agency MENA said.

Three other ministry officials were also detained pending an investigation.

The minister's arrest comes shortly after prosecutors banned any public information on the case last week. The country's top prosecutor Ali Omran said the officials were charged with accepting gifts in exchange for reallocation of a piece of land. The presents included a sports club membership, high-end clothing, mobile phones, expensive meals and sponsoring a pilgrimage trip for 16 people.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has promised to rid his country of corruption and human rights violations. Helal's arrest is the biggest case of graft brought forward by the government in Cairo until now.

The former army chief has not even spared ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was fined 125 million Egyptian pounds (14.3 million euros or $16 million) along with his sons in May this year. The family was accused of embezzling funds meant for the maintenance of presidential palaces.

mg/jr (AP, AFP)