A Cairo court upheld on Monday a prosecutors’ 2011 decision to freeze the assets of Mubarak-era business tycoon Ahmed Ezz pending an end to investigations.

Ezz had filed an appeal against the prosecutors’ decision to freeze his assets while they continue to investigate him for illicit gains.

Ezz was released in August 2014 after paying millions of pounds in bail on separate charges of money laundering.

Ezz is the chairman of Ezz Steel and has a 55 percent stake in EZDK, the largest steel complex in the Middle East.

He previously served as the organiser of Mubarak’s now-dissolved National Democratic Party and also acted as the spokesperson for the NDP in parliament between 2005 and 2010.

He is widely believed to have orchestrated the rigging of the 2010 parliamentary elections, securing an unprecedented majority for his party in the chamber.

Ezz enjoyed a close relationship with Gamal Mubarak, the former president's son, who was reportedly being groomed to succeed his father as president.

In February, while Egypt was preparing for the now-postponed parliamentary elections, the elections committee in Menoufia governorate disqualified Ezz from running in the polls.