Egypt's Ezz Steel, the country's largest steel manufacturer, confirmed today that its chairman and founder, Ahmed Ezz, has been barred from leaving the country. Mr Ezz is one of a number of businessmen being investigated by Egypt's public prosecutor in an apparent crackdown on the corporate tycoons who rose to power in both politics and business under the government of president Hosni Mubarak
Other well-known figures including Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the former minister of trade, and Zoheir Garannah, the former tourism minister, have been named in the investigations. But Mr Ezz is by far the most prominent member of Egypt's corporate elite, and his name is the most frequently cited by protesters and opposition figures when slamming the culture of corruption that pervades the Mubarak government.
Ezz Steel, which constitutes about 3.6 per cent of the benchmark EGX30 index, controls around 60 per cent of the Egyptian steel market. The company and its subsidiary, Al Ezz Dekheila, have a combined market cap of almost $3bn.
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