Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial has sued the chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Mohamed Omran and the chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) Sherif Samy, Reuters has reported.

Omran directed the Egyptian Exchange to repeatedly cancel trades on Beltone stock, citing regulations regarding unjustified prices.

Beltone was acquired by Egyptian investor Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom Media & Technology in November 2015. Between January and April 2016, its share price rose from E£4 to over E£20, then fell again to its current price of £E7.1.

The lawsuit claims that the cancellations were an abuse of authority by the head of the EGX. Beltone filed a grievance with the EFSA, but lost.

The share price rise was partially driven by Beltone’s efforts to acquire CI Capital from local Commercial International Bank.

The planned merger collapsed after the EFSA withheld approval for over 6 months. Naguib Sawiris accused the government, particularly the Central Bank of Egypt, of hindering the E£924m ($104m) deal, and preventing him from securing a loan for the acquisition.