The chairman of Juhayna, Egypt's largest dairy products and juices producer, has been barred from trading on the Cairo bourse and his shares have been frozen, two stock market sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Last week a committee formed by the government after the Muslim Brotherhood was banned in September 2013 to seize and manage the assets of those with alleged links to the organisation issued a ruling against Safwan Thabet.

Thabet's lawyer denies his client has any links to the Brotherhood, which was removed from power by the military in 2013 after mass protests against its rule.

“Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR) received a letter (from the authorities) requesting the freezing of Safwan Thabet's assets so we did,” one of the sources said.

Thabet directly owns a 0.34 direct stake in Juhayna but controls 51.02 per cent of the company through an investment company he co-owns with members of his family and other investors.

"The bourse received a letter (from the authorities) requesting the suspension of Safwan Thabet's (trading) codes and the codes were indeed suspended during Wednesday's trading session," a second source said.

"He will not be able to buy or sell any shares on the bourse after his codes were suspended," he added.

Juhayna's stock plummeted over seven percent earlier this week. It was trading at EGP8 ($1.02) at 1215 GMT.

Earlier on Thursday UK-based fund company Aberdeen Asset Management said it had increased its stake in Juhayna to 5.08 per cent from 4.38 per cent. - Reuters