An Egyptian lawyer, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Mansour, has filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Public Prosecutor against Shaker Mahzoor, a popular TikTok star. The complaint, submitted through the Office of Complaints and Petitions at the Cairo Court of Justice, requests an urgent and comprehensive investigation into allegations of money laundering, tax evasion, and financial irregularities related to Mahzoor's activities on TikTok and other social media platforms.
According to the complaint, Mahzoor operates a TikTok account with the handle "shaker_mahzoor" and regularly appears in live broadcasts and challenges, receiving gifts and virtual currencies with monetary value. The complainant alleges that during one live broadcast, Mahzoor received gifts worth millions of Egyptian pounds, which were subsequently converted into cash and transferred to bank accounts and electronic wallets.
The complaint cites several laws, including the Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 80 of 2002 and its amendments, the Income Tax Law No. 91 of 2005, and the Unified Tax Procedures Law No. 206 of 2020. The complainant argues that Mahzoor's activities necessitate an examination of the sources of his funds, the mechanisms of their transfer and conversion, and the verification of the nature of the agencies and intermediaries involved in these transactions.
The complaint also alleges that Mahzoor has hidden income generated from his content creation and live broadcasts, failing to disclose his earnings and financial transactions to the Egyptian Tax Authority. The complainant requests that the authority verify Mahzoor's actual revenues, determine his tax obligations, and assess any applicable taxes.
The complainant has requested that the Public Prosecutor's Office take action to lift the banking secrecy surrounding Mahzoor's accounts, track financial transactions, and identify the parties involved and the sources of the funds. The complaint also calls for the formation of a technical committee comprising representatives from the General Administration of Public Funds Investigations, the General Administration of Information Technology, and the Egyptian Tax Authority.
The proposed technical committee would investigate the sources of Mahzoor's funds, examine the agencies and intermediaries involved in converting virtual currencies into cash, and assess the tax implications of his activities. The complainant has also requested that the authorities take precautionary measures, including freezing Mahzoor's assets and preventing him from leaving the country, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The complaint and supporting evidence, including video recordings and links to social media posts, will be subject to review and investigation by the relevant authorities. The allegations made in the complaint have not been verified, and no judicial ruling has been made to confirm the commission of any crime.
Key points
- The complaint against Shaker Mahzoor alleges money laundering and tax evasion related to his activities on TikTok and other social media platforms.
- The complainant has requested that the authorities lift the banking secrecy surrounding Mahzoor's accounts and track financial transactions.
- A technical committee is proposed to investigate the sources of Mahzoor's funds, examine the agencies and intermediaries involved, and assess the tax implications of his activities.
