Egyptian officials say a close business associate of ousted President Hosni Mubarak has been arrested in Spain on charges of fraud.

The state-run MENA news agency says Hussein Salem was detained on the Spanish island of Majorca on an arrest warrant issued by Interpol.

The head of Egypt's Interpol agency, Magde el-Shafie, told MENA that authorities are preparing the necessary documents to bring Salem back to Egypt.

Salem is accused of squandering public funds by selling gas to Israel at below-market prices. He also is charged with bribing Mr. Mubarak and his family, in return for gaining control of large areas of lucrative real estate property.

Salem fled Egypt about a week before Mr. Mubarak was forced to resign on February 11 after a wave of anti-government protests. The businessman faces trial on August 3, the same day that Mr. Mubarak and his two sons are to be tried on charges of fraud and orchestrating the killings of demonstrators in the opposition protests.