Weather Investments II, a vehicle owned by Egyptian telecoms billionaire Naguib Sawiris, has filed a $5bn claim against the Algerian government, alleging that it interfered with the firm’s stake in a telecom operator known as Djezzy.

The complaint, registered in the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes - the international arbitration arm of the World Bank - accuses the Algerian government of breaching an investment protection treaty between the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.