A Billionaire developer and former member of the Egyptian Parliament was sentenced to death on Thursday for ordering the murder of his former girlfriend, a troubled Lebanese pop singer whose body was found in her Dubai apartment.

The verdict against Hisham Talaat Moustafa, once a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, was the latest twist in a stunning drama that has offered a rare peek into the closely guarded realm of Egypt’s politicians and businessmen. Moustafa was found guilty of paying $2 million to a former policeman in 2008 to kill Suzanne Tamim, a diva whose professional slide led her into an affair with one of the Egypt’s richest men.

Appearing in court, Moustafa was granted an immediate review of the sentence by Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. A religious investigation is common in Egypt for death penalty cases, but few expected that a tycoon who built luxury hotels and had ties to President Hosni Mubarak’s family would be facing the gallows.

The verdict may be a sign to businessmen “that nobody is above the law”, said Hassan Nafae, a writer and political commentator. “It may deter some arrogant businessmen who thought there were no political or legal constraints on their ambitions as well as their sexual desires.”

Moustafa hired hotel security guard and former policeman Mohsen Sukary to kill Tamim, 31, after the singer broke off their relationship when she became involved with an Iraqi kick-boxing champion, investigators found. Moustafa, a married man, had dated Tamim for three years. The couple met in hotels and apartments in London, Dubai and Cairo.

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