Arrest of TikTok Celebrities in Egypt on Charges of Money Laundering via Social Media Platforms

Egyptian security forces arrested several stars of the "TikTok" platform on charges of money laundering, as it became clear that they exploited their wide popularity to carry out illegal operations that included creating fake advertisements, establishing shell companies, and promoting fraudulent marketing deals.

The Ministry of Interior announced the initiation of extensive investigations by the Economic and Money Laundering Prosecution with ten TikTok celebrities, where some of them were found in possession of narcotics and unlicensed firearms, in addition to electronic devices used to manage social media accounts followed by hundreds of thousands of young people.

The investigations revealed the involvement of content creator Suzy from Jordan in laundering 15 million pounds, while it was found that the content creator known as "Madahem" was involved in laundering an estimated 65 million pounds. The investigations also uncovered the involvement of one of the most famous content creators on the platform, named "Shaker", in money laundering operations worth millions of pounds.

Engineer Ziad Abdel Tawab, Assistant Secretary-General of the Cabinet for Digital Transformation, explained that money laundering operations are carried out by exploiting the virtual gift feature on TikTok, where celebrities receive huge amounts during live broadcasts from anonymous accounts, later returning this money to its source after deducting a commission percentage, which allows them to legitimize this money before depositing it into bank accounts.

He pointed out that the widespread use of the application in Egypt, with around 40 million users, has made it a fertile environment for such illegal activities, noting that some accounts receiving extravagant gifts for unappealing content is compelling evidence of money laundering operations.

For his part, Dr. Karim Al-Omdah, a professor of political economy, warned of the negative effects of this phenomenon, emphasizing that some celebrities announcing daily profits reaching one million pounds is an unnatural matter, indicating that this money may have illicit sources.

He added that these practices cause severe damage to the national economy by wasting genuine investment opportunities, as well as creating a false awareness among young people that quick wealth is possible without real effort, in addition to contributing to the spread of content that offends public decency.

In the legal context, lawyer Wahdan Al-Baz confirmed that Article 14 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law stipulates strict penalties of no less than seven years in prison, with financial fines that may reach five million pounds or the equivalent of the laundered money, in addition to the confiscation of funds and tools used in the crime and the possibility of closing establishments used in these operations.