The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has issued a stern warning to investors about an unlicensed entity impersonating the legitimate UAE-based global broker, Equiti. This fraudulent activity has resulted in significant financial losses, with notable victims including Dubai Bling star Lojain Omran.
On March 27, the SCA alerted the public that MRL Investments, operating under the website equiity.com, is not licensed by the authority and has no affiliation with Equiti Securities Currencies Brokers LLC (ESCB LLC), which operates under the legitimate brand name ‘Equiti’. The SCA emphasized that Equiity has no connection with Equiti, which is authorized to engage in trading derivative contracts and currencies.
The scam came to light when Lojain Omran shared her unfortunate experience on Snapchat, revealing that she had lost $27,000 to Equiity. She urged her followers to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before engaging with any financial entities.
Equiti, a well-established global fintech group with a Dubai metro station named after it, confirmed that they approached the SCA upon discovering the fraudulent activities carried out by Equiity, MRL Investments, and a third-party contact center based in Sharjah. For legal reasons, the name of the Sharjah-based company is withheld.
According to Equiti, the fraudsters using the name ‘EQUIITY’ solicited deposits through phone calls, the Equiity.com website, or the Equiity app. Victims reported being contacted by a call center in Sharjah, where representatives falsely claimed to be associated with Equiti, citing the company’s SCA license and Dubai metro station affiliation. Despite these claims, the scammers did not display the license number on their website, exploiting Equiti’s reputation to convince victims to deposit funds.
Mohammed AlAhmad Ketmawi, Equiti Group co-founder and CEO of ESCB, stated that several misled investors have recently reached out to Equiti, with some reporting individual losses of up to half a million dollars. Equiti has been collaborating closely with regulatory authorities, including the UAE’s SCA and Mauritius’ FSC, to investigate these incidents and uphold industry integrity. They are also pursuing legal and police actions against the fraudsters.
Equiti has advised investors to verify the legitimacy of financial entities by checking regulatory details on the footer of websites, calling officially provided and verified company numbers, offering to call back if contacted by an unrecognized phone number, and referring to regulators’ websites to confirm contact details and license validity before transferring any funds.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of due diligence in financial transactions and the need for vigilance against increasingly sophisticated scams.