What do a cafeteria, a cleaning service company, a pasta factory, a slaughterhouse, and a resort in Egypt have in common? They are all quite possibly owned by the country’s military. And although everybody knows this, the detail of the defence budget is the biggest secret in town: literally. Ninety-nine per cent of the defence budget in Egypt is not disclosed. Whereas many defence establishments shield themselves from public scrutiny under the guise of national security, secrecy in this case serves to cover the huge profits made by the Egyptian military.