An Egyptian criminal court acquitted Sunday former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq of corruption and public fund squandering charges in absentia, official MENA news agency reported.

Shafiq, the last prime minister under former President Hosni Mubarak, left Egypt for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after losing the presidential race with Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi.

The former presidential rival chaired the board of Cooperative Housing Association for Military Pilots (CHAMP) during the 1990s.

The court also exculpated former Aviation Minister Ibrahim Mannaa and former head of Egypt Air Holding Company Tawfiq al-Assy.

Many of Mubarak's men have either been acquitted or temporarily released over similar charges. In February, the Egyptian authorities released former chief of staff Zakaria Azmy according to a court order as he had been temporarily detained for about 22 months although the maximum period of detention without conviction was 18 months.

Similarly, the Court of Cassation has recently accepted the appeals of former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, former interior minister Habib al-Adli and fugitive former finance minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and decided to retry them over similar charges.

Also in February, the court released former Shura Council ( upper house of parliament) Speaker Safwat al-Sherif for exceeding 18 months in temporary custody over charges of corruption and illicit gains. Sherif was acquitted in October 2012 of involvement in an attack publicly known as "the Battle of the Camel," which killed at least 21 protesters and injured hundreds in Tahrir Square during 2011 upheaval.

Top figures of former regime, including Mubarak himself, were arrested over different charges in the wake of 2011 uprising.

Mubarak, who was formerly sentenced to life imprisonment in a first trial, is scheduled to be retried on April 13 over killing protesters.