DISPUTE WATCH- Raya files appeal against EGP 110 mn+ fine: Raya Holding yesterday filed an appeal against the Cairo Economic Court’s ruling against its chairman Medhat Khalil, the company announced in an EGX disclosure (pdf). In separate comments made to Al Mal the group’s legal advisor, Hani Khalil, stated that the company’s shareholder transactions and ownership fell pursuant to EGX bylaws, insisting the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) instead direct its dispute towards the EGX. Khalil also contended that the regulator’s reliance on civil law to define shareholder relationship is without precedent.

Medhat Khalil was ordered to pay a record EGP 110 mn fine on Monday following a drawn out dispute between Raya Holding and the FRA over a violation of ownership regulations. Khalil had already failed to pay an EGP 11 mn fine to the regulator after he was found to have exceeded the maximum ownership limit in Raya without making a mandatory tender offer (MTO). The FRA originally ordered Khalil at the end of 2018 to make a MTO or sell off his shares after it determined that he along with related parties violated regulations by controlling a combined 42% of the company.