The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority has issued a warning against dealing with unlicensed financial entities including those marketing crypto and virtual assets.
As per the notice on their website, “Unlicensed entities and online platforms operating in the field of receiving & pooling funds for investment will face legal consequences. Do not participate in subscriptions for any securities (shares and bonds) unless the Authority has explicitly approved the public offering. Exercise extreme caution and avoid investing through companies lacking the necessary licenses to receive funds for investment or platforms offering financing without authorization.”
They also warned citizens against investing in virtual and encrypted currencies. ” FRA warns citizens against investing in virtual and encrypted currencies.”
The Egyptian FRA stated, that the negative list of unlicensed entities offering non=bank financial services and products would be released soon and asked citizens to report unlicensed product solicitations.
The FRA added that there are a number of website and social media platforms that are promoting and soliciting public investment in projects in exchange for returns, all without the necessary operational licenses or approvals. These actions are in direct breach of Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992, Article 4, which unequivocally requires a Financial Regulatory Authority-approved prospectus for any public offering.
Lastly the Egyptian FRA once again warned Egyptian citizens against illegal promotion of virtual encrypted currencies, or cryptocurrencies. It states, ” We urgently warn all Egyptian market participants to be extremely vigilant and avoid recent solicitations to engage in these currencies due to their substantial risks, potential involvement in financial crimes and cyber piracy, lack of underlying value for stability and user protection and the exposure of users to fraud and legal repercussions for violating Egyptian law. Egyptian law prescribes imprisonment and/or a fine of one to ten million Egyptian pounds for anyone trading, promoting or offering activities related to these currencies without prior authorization from the relevant bodies.”
Egyptian Central Bank issued Fines against crypto violators
In 2022, The central bank of Egypt once again reiterated its warning against dealing in any type of cryptocurrencies, saying that crypto is risky, highly volatile, and is used in financial crimes and e-piracy. The Central Bank of Egypt noted it would fine anyone who violates the Law No 194 of 2020 which prohibits issuing, trading, promoting cryptocurrencies, operating crypto exchanges or any other related activities. The Central Bank will fine violators up to $516,000 ( 10 million LE) or face imprisonment.
Egyptian crypto growth doubles
In 2023, Triple A research noted that crypto ownership had doubled in countries such as Egypt. As they noted in January 2023 there were 420 million crypto owners globally; this is up from their previous report in January 2022 where they had stated there were 300 million crypto owners globally. In the Arab world biggest growth was seen in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, and even Iraq.
