EFG-Hermes head Yasser El-Mallawany (Photo: Ahram file)
Egypt's EFG-Hermes has confirmed its chief executive Yasser El-Mallawany is banned from travelling by the country's authorities, but denies the ban has any connection to last week's football disaster in Port Said.
In a statement to Ahram Online, the investment bank said that no charges have been laid against El-Mallawany and that it has been informed the ban was issued as a precautionary measure.
Similar restrictions have been placed on other business heads in Egypt over the last 12 months, the statement added.
El-Mallawany was prevented from travelling to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday after Egyptian authorities found his name on a list of officials banned from leaving the country.
A Justice Ministry official told AP on Sunday that El-Mallawany and Gamal Omar, a close friend of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s son, Gamal, were being investigated for allegedly paying thugs to attack revolutionary youth after a soccer match in the Egyptian city of Port Said.
In a riot there last Wednesday, 74 people were killed.
EFG-Hermes added that the firm is not involved in any investigation regarding the events and no charges of any kind have been addressed to the firm.
The investment bank will continue to "to proactively release pertinent information on this issue in a timely manner, as is required by disclosure regulations of the Egyptian Exchange", the statement concluded.
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