Wife of Egyptian ousted president Hosni Mubarak remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigations into illegal acquisition of wealth

The wife of Egyptian ousted president Hosni Mubarak has been remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigations into the illegal acquisition of wealth, the official MENA news agency reported.

"The head of the Illicit Gains Authority, Assem al-Gohari, has ordered the 15 day detention of Suzanne Thabet pending investigation over accusations she abused her position for the illegal acquisition of wealth," MENA reported.

Crowds of people in Tahrir Square broke out into cheers and women ululated on hearing the news of her detention.

The half-Welsh former first lady was seen as the driving force behind plans to have her son Gamal take over the presidency from his father, a highly unpopular prospect in Egypt that had sparked angry protests over the years.

On Friday, the authority also ordered a further 15-day detention of Hosni Mubarak after a three-hour interrogation of the former president and his wife.

Mubarak was first detained on April 13. He is in custody in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after having reportedly suffered a heart attack when he was first questioned. He has already been interrogated by the state prosecutor over several charges, including ordering the shooting of anti-regime protesters, and has been held under remand for repeated 15-day periods.

During the questioning, Mubarak and his wife had agreed to reveal details of their bank accounts both in and outside of Egypt, MENA said. Mubarak was also questioned about a villa he owns in Sharm el-Sheikh worth 36 million Egyptian pounds (about $6 million) "without counting the cost of the swimming pool," MENA said. He was also asked about having personal control of the $145-million bank account of the Alexandria Library.

The former first lady was interrogated about a luxury villa she owns in Cairo, as well as 20 million pounds (about $3.3 million) held in a bank account, MENA said.