Defeated presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik left Egypt on Tuesday for a religious pilgrimage, aides said, a day after a prosecutor referred corruption lawsuits naming Shafik to an investigating judge.

The lawsuits allege that Shafik, Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, was involved in crooked land deals and other graft during his time as civil aviation minister between 2002 and 2011, a judicial source said.

Shafik is one of several Mubarak-era figures to face such accusations since the leader was ousted in a popular uprising last year. Some were jailed and Mubarak himself began a life sentence this month for his role in the killing of protesters.

The state news agency MENA said Shafik left Cairo airport unaccompanied on a United Arab Emirates airline early on Tuesday. Airport officials said he was not alone - two of his daughters and three grandsons flew with him.

"Ahmed Shafik left today at dawn for Abu Dhabi and from there he will head to the holy lands of Saudi Arabia to perform the Omra (pilgrimage) before returning to his homeland Egypt," Shafik's campaign team said on his official Facebook page.

Omar Suleiman, the former spy chief under Mubarak who was disqualified from this year's presidential election, is also believed to be in Abu Dhabi with members of his family. [Reuters]