CAIRO — The head of one of Egypt's most prominent publicly traded firms has appealed his conviction and sentencing on manipulating stock prices and providing conflicting information on his firm's holdings, the company said Monday. Orascom Development Holdings, maintaining that the claims against its executive chairman Samih Sawiris are "unfounded," also said that the filing of the appeal has led to the "suspension of sanctions and settlement negotiations have been initiated." Sawiris was convicted last week by a Cairo court and sentenced to two years in prison on charges that his real estate and hotel development firm misrepresented its stake in Orascom Hotels & Development, a subsidiary. He has been free on bail. Authorities also maintained that ODH breached an obligation to keep the subsidiary listed on the Egyptian stock exchange for three years from the date of the mandatory tender offer made in 2008. Sawiris was convicted as ODH's legal representative, and not in a personal capacity. ODH has criticized the handling of the case, arguing that the public prosecutor failed to investigate the allegations before bringing the case to court. The company said the ruling came after just two hearings and that it was not allowed to plead its case in full. Orascom and Sawiris "are convinced that they have acted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and that the allegations included in the judgment are unfounded," the company said. "The proceedings are not expected to have an impact on Orascom's operations in Egypt." A main allegation in the case was a discrepancy in figures in ODH's stake in its hotel subsidiary. ODH said its financial statements showed it owned a 98.18 percent stake in the subsidiary while a shareholder register showed it held legal ownership of 96.14 percent. The second allegation relating to stock prices came after Egyptian regulators maintained that ODH failed to keep its subsidiary listed on the stock market for three years from the date of the mandatory tender offer. The company said that a change in listing rules on the Egyptian stock exchange was to blame for that lapse. As well as in Egypt, ODH operates in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Switzerland, Morocco, the United Kingdom, Montenegro and Romania. The company has posted losses in the first half of the year, with the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak battering the economy. The vital property sector was, in particular, hard hit, as few in the country showed a willingness to sink funds into real estate amid lingering political and security uncertainties.
