The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 13 suspects associated with the FBC online financial platform have been arrested and charged with scamming citizens and stealing their money.
A statement by the ministry said that it had received reports from 101 citizens since February 22 that they had been scammed by the online platform.
The complainants said that those in charge of the platform defrauded them and seized their money, which totaled nearly two million LE, by claiming to invest it for them in software and electronic marketing.
The statement added that investigations revealed that a gang led by three suspects holding foreign nationalities, present in the country and linked to a criminal network abroad, specializing in the field of fraud and electronic fraud, scammed the victims out of their money through the FBC platform.
The gang leaders agreed with 11 people to establish a company in Cairo to practice their criminal activity and promote the platform via social media and WhatsApp, in exchange for financial commissions.
The statement added that the gang members used mobile phone lines to activate electronic wallets on them with fake data to use them to receive and transfer the stolen funds, after which the platform and the company’s headquarters were closed.
The ministry said that 13 members of the gang were arrested and in their possession were mobile phones – 1,135 mobile phone SIM cards – a laptop – sums of money in various currencies worth LE1.27 million.
When confronted with the filed reports they confessed to the crime, and legal measures were taken.
The Interior Ministry warned citizens never to involve their money with any application from an unknown source.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
