The Egypt Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) issued a public warning urging citizens to avoid dealing with unlicensed individuals, companies, or online platforms that solicit funds for investment, invite participation in securities subscriptions, or offer financing without authorisation. The FRA said such activity exposes investors to serious risks and places promoters and operators of unlicensed schemes under legal accountability. The warning covers invitations to subscribe to any securities, including shares and bonds, without the FRA’s approval to publish the subscription invitation and without an FRA-approved prospectus, referencing requirements under the Capital Market Law. It also reiterates restrictions under the law governing companies that receive money from the public for investment, and extends the caution to unlicensed solicitations linked to real estate investment and to dealing in crypto-assets, noting that unlicensed crypto-related activity is subject to penalties including imprisonment and fines ranging from EGP 1 million to EGP 10 million, or either. For gold-related offers, the FRA emphasised that it regulates investment via units in precious metals investment funds, and stated it has approved only three gold investment funds, with their details available on its website. To help users verify counterparties, the FRA has created an updated section on its website listing licensed non-banking financial services providers across investment, non-banking finance, and insurance. It is also developing a “negative list” of unlicensed entities identified from citizen reports and the FRA’s subsequent review and business model checks, with publication to be announced soon, alongside legal action against unlicensed platforms and companies.

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