This April, administrative closure decisions hit the “B-Laban” chain of shops, which was founded in Alexandria in 2021 and expanded rapidly to become one of the most prominent brands in Egypt’s dessert sector. The decision covered about 110 branches spread across several governorates, including Cairo, Giza and Gharbia, alongside the closure of other chains, among them: “Am Shaltat” for feteer, “Karam El-Sham” for shawarma, and “Konafa w Basbousa”.
These decisions came following an announcement by the National Food Safety Authority that it had received complaints through the electronic portal of the Unified Government Complaints System and its affiliated monitoring unit, reporting cases of food poisoning linked to those shops’ products. According to the authority’s statement, the violations included the presence of pathogenic bacteria in some products, the circulation of food of unknown origin and poor storage, in addition to failure to meet the necessary legal licensing requirements.
In the same context, the Egyptian Ministry of Health issued a statement in which it said that its inspection teams had carried out 232 inspection visits to branches and factories of the “B-Laban” chain, which resulted in the detection of quantities of food of unknown origin and other expired food, along with 122 unlicensed establishments. The ministry explained that the results of testing 437 samples revealed levels that did not conform to standard specifications and technical regulations, which required the destruction of 697 kg of food and 70 litres of drinks and juices because their natural properties had changed. In addition, 387 violation reports were filed, including violations related to deficiencies in health requirements or the absence of health certificates for food workers.
The Egyptian move came weeks after the announcement by the Saudi health authorities that cases of food poisoning had been recorded among citizens in Riyadh, followed by a decision to close all “B-Laban” branches inside the Kingdom. In Egypt, the National Food Safety Authority announced that it had received complaints via the Unified Government Complaints Portal and its affiliated monitoring unit, reporting similar cases after people ate products from “B-Laban” shops and a number of chains linked to it.
The closure of the chain’s stores within 72 hours raised questions about whether there were other motives, such as undisclosed financial investigations or pressure from competing parties, particularly since it had been preceded by controversial advertising campaigns: B-Laban launched advertisements that provoked competing brands such as “El-Abd” and “Wazir El-Helw”, and the “El-Malki” chain of stores responded with an advertisement mocking “B-Laban” and hinting that the chain was involved in money laundering. Following that, El-Abd Company for Investment, Manufacturing and Confectionery Trade filed an official complaint with the Supreme Council for Media Regulation against the “B-Laban” company last March, demanding a halt to its advertising campaign for Eid kahk, which included an insult to its founder. At the beginning of this April, the management of the B-Laban company apologised to El-Abd and its customers who had been annoyed by the advertisement. In September 2024, “B-Laban” had faced criticism over the names of some of its products, such as “Lahalibo Yeh Yeh”, “Ashtouza”, “Metshakhla’a”, “Medalla’a” and “Mesakhsakha”, which some considered indecent and contrary to public taste, and they launched calls to boycott its products.
At the same time, the “B-Laban” chain faced online campaigns on social media platforms such as Facebook and X, which included doubts about the quality of its products, the speed at which its branches spread and its sources of funding, raising questions about the motives behind these campaigns and whether they were driven by competing parties or by other reasons. An analysis of those campaigns, conducted by Zawia3, shows that their discourse focused on calls for a boycott, criticism of product quality, questions about the motives for the closures, and accusations such as money laundering or suspicious funding, with a noticeable repetition of money-laundering rumours and funding accusations, which somewhat resembles the methods of systematic campaigns that use unconfirmed accusations to tarnish reputations.
The previous campaigns the company faced in 2024 over product names point to a recurring pattern of criticism that may have been backed by competing parties or by parties seeking to undermine the chain’s success; however, we noticed the diversity of the online accounts: the posts came from various individual accounts, which means there is no clear evidence that they belong to an organised group or bots, and there was no unified hashtag, unlike systematic campaigns, which often use specific hashtags to unify their discourse, such as organised boycott campaigns. The posts did not show any prominent hashtag other than #B-Laban, which reduces the likelihood of systematic coordination.
For their part, the media played a major role in amplifying the controversy, as headlines such as “B-Laban closed” focused on it without referring to other chains to the same extent, which may reinforce the sense of a targeted campaign. Social media platforms also contributed to amplifying reactions to product names, food-poisoning reports and the official closures, which provoked public anger among many consumers, driven by health concerns and by criticism of cheap marketing methods, such as delaying orders to create artificial crowds and using product names carrying sexual connotations. The closures coincided with the circulation of rumours about the chain accusing it of money laundering, which points to the possible existence of parties seeking to exploit the crisis to harm the chain, perhaps because of its commercial success or for competitive motives. However, it cannot be stated conclusively that the campaigns were entirely systematic, because part of them reflected genuine popular discontent backed by official reports.
Accusations of financial corruption
The “B-Laban” chain of shops and the other chains affiliated with it face an accusation of tax evasion: Ahmed El-Segeny, head of the Local Administration Committee of the House of Representatives, announced on Wednesday that they were involved in preliminary violations, including tax evasion and failure to issue invoices or use credit cards, explaining that, according to reports, preliminary violations worth EGP 135 million had been detected.
Meanwhile, a report by the “Saheeh Masr” platform traced the chain’s owners, the brothers Momen and Karim Adel, and Islam Salama, through open sources and company registries (Companies House – LinkedIn – OCCRP), and found that Momen Adel holds the citizenship of “Saint Kitts and Nevis”, a Caribbean country known as a tax haven, which allows holders of its citizenship to conceal their identity, obtain tax exemptions and protection from complex litigation procedures, enabling him to move his wealth out of Egypt without paying taxes.
The country overlooking the Caribbean Sea allows citizenship to be obtained in exchange for a donation to the government worth $250,000, or the purchase of property worth $400,000. It does not impose taxes on income, wealth or inheritance, its passport allows visa-free entry to more than 150 countries, and it is favoured by international banks for opening bank accounts. Saint Kitts was previously placed on the European Union’s blacklist in 2018, and was then removed from it on 25 May 2018.
Egyptian journalist Abdullah Abu Deif revealed the existence of fictitious branches and headquarters for the B-Laban company and a different tax system for protection: British records include a headquarters in London in the name of Momen Adel Ramadan Mohamed Ammar, owner of the B-Laban chain, but this headquarters is fictitious, designated for this type of company and rented for only $30 an hour. However, the papers of the company registered in Wales, Britain, are genuine, and its registration relied on the citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis, as one of the well-known tax-haven countries.
The Egyptian journalist explains, in a post on his personal account on Facebook, that the same thing was repeated for several companies in Dubai and elsewhere bearing his name, in addition to another company in Oman bearing his name and that of his brother Karim Adel Ramadan, all of them registered under the name B-Laban. He adds that Momen Adel registered these companies under the one-person company system, a system different from the sole proprietorship, which allows tax to be calculated only on the company’s profits and not on the owner’s entire personal income, making it less exposed to random tax audits, and allows him to deduct operating costs and expenses related to the commercial activity before calculating tax, which may reduce the net taxable profit. He revealed that Momen obtained the citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis (in exchange for paying $250,000) at the end of December 2024, according to the registration data of the company in Wales, Britain, that is, only 45 days before the start of the crisis, which began in Saudi Arabia and then extended to the closure of its branches in Egypt.
The chain has recently faced unofficial accusations of involvement in money-laundering activities, based on its unprecedented expansion in Egypt and abroad within a few years, especially in light of the economic challenges in Egypt, most notably rising inflation and high operating costs, in addition to the chain’s launch of costly marketing campaigns. Lawyer Samir Sabry filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor and the Anti-Money Laundering Crimes Department against Momen Adel, owner of the “B-Laban” chain and other chains such as “Wahmy” and “Karam El-Sham”, in which he accused him of engaging in activities related to money laundering, relying on the chain’s rapid expansion, the huge publicity campaigns that targeted celebrities and influencers on social media, and the existence of suspicions about its sources of funding.
Despite the doubts circulating about the chain’s funding, there are as yet no official reports confirming actual criminal investigations on money-laundering charges, which places these accusations within the realm of rumours or assumptions. On 18 April 2025, Momen Adel, chief executive and chairman of the board of “B-Laban”, appeared on the programme “El Hekaya” with TV host Amr Adib on MBC Masr to respond to the accusations. Adel categorically denied any involvement in money laundering or suspicious funding, stressing that the company operates transparently and deals with the largest suppliers and companies in Egypt, and that the branches see heavy demand from customers, which justifies the profits with which the expansion was financed, and that the company contributes to exporting fruit and packaging materials, which brings hard currency into Egypt.
Absence of governance and risk management
Economic expert Dr. Ahmed Shawky, a member of the Egyptian Society of Political Economy, Statistics and Legislation, attributes the wide spread of the “B-Laban” chains of shops across Egypt’s governorates and Arab countries to increased rates of demand, which help its management to expand; but there should be risk management that studies the potential risks of expansion and operating problems, and the issues related to occupational safety and health and health certificates, otherwise its expansion becomes haphazard, based only on increasing demand. The absence of governance, risk management and a food health-safety system leads to its sudden collapse as soon as it faces a problem. He stresses to Zawia3 that, in addition to the shops, the chain owns auxiliary production lines such as dairy farms, fruit, juice production lines and lines for export abroad, and that it has moved beyond the local scope to become international, and should have followed the example of international companies in relying on governance and risk management.
The expert rules out any suspicion of money laundering involving the company, as rumoured on social media, explaining that every pound that enters or leaves Egypt through legitimate channels is subject to oversight, and that the Public Funds Investigations and the Central Bank do not take this lightly. He points out that a tax audit of the company should be carried out before accusing it of tax evasion, that it has the right to file an objection and for a re-examination to take place, and that a settlement can be reached before the matter reaches the courts and a ruling is issued to seize the company’s bank accounts, which did not happen in the case of “B-Laban”.
Dr. Souad El-Deeb, head of the Media Association for Development and Consumer Protection, expresses surprise at the large and sudden spread of the chains of shops affiliated with the “B-Laban” chain, some of which she believes did not undergo licensing and conformity with the standard specifications in Egypt relating to health and food safety, which led to their closure after inspection campaigns carried out by the Food Safety Authority, which resulted in the detection of health and administrative violations committed by the chain. She points out that the food industry market in Egypt needs more regulation to protect citizens’ health from food that is harmful to health and violates standard specifications, explaining to Zawia3 that violating restaurants and shops are usually subject to a fine and temporary closure until they rectify their status.
Presidential intervention to resolve the crisis
For its part, the “B-Laban” company sent an appeal for help to the President of the Republic, the Cabinet and the relevant state bodies after the company’s activity came to a halt as a result of the closure of all its branches, numbering 110, as well as the factories and facilities affiliated with it, which employ 25,000 Egyptians. In a statement, it described itself as a national entity that was founded by Egyptian hands and grew with the support of this homeland, spread to nine Arab countries, and achieved within a few years what can be considered an honourable Egyptian model in the food and beverage sector, proving that Egypt is capable of exporting successful investment brands that start from within and reach the entire Arab world.
While some criticised the statement for not offering an apology or a clarification regarding the health violations, with its focus on the company’s attempt to elicit sympathy instead of taking responsibility, describing it as an attempt to market the crisis by stirring emotions while ignoring transparency and the law, the statement drew a response from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who called for an urgent meeting with the competent authorities for full compliance with safety standards inside the Egyptian market under the full supervision of the competent authorities, with adherence to all safety requirements and the standards regulating work inside the Egyptian market. This prompted the company to issue a statement thanking the President, considering that the speed of the response reflects the seriousness of the Egyptian state in striking a balance between applying the law and preserving the serious national entities that were born in this homeland, employ its sons and proudly carry its name abroad, and affirming its full commitment to everything issued by the regulatory authorities, its constant readiness to correct any observations, and to work with full transparency and cooperation to offer a product worthy of the Egyptian consumer.
Following that, the Ministry of Health revealed that it had contacted the owners of the B-Laban chain and its affiliated shops to hold a coordination meeting to clarify the corrective and preventive measures required to be taken towards resuming activity once their status is rectified and corrected as soon as possible.
Human rights lawyer Malek Adly, director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, believes that the way the authorities handled the crisis of the “B-Laban” chain of shops raises legal and procedural questions, since, in his view, if it is proven that a company produced food that is harmful, violates specifications or contains prohibited ingredients, this is classified among the crimes of commercial fraud that are referred to the judiciary, whether as a misdemeanour or a felony, rather than being handled administratively through direct closure decisions by executive bodies. He adds that the rules in force require the courts to be the body competent to issue closure and fine rulings, after the violations are presented in documented reports and official investigations. He points out that the usual practice in such cases is for the government to take an approach of facilitation towards investors, and for cases to be left to their judicial course without direct intervention by the political authorities.
In a statement to Zawia3, Adly says: “Administrative closure decisions must be presented to the court, and the judiciary is the one that has the final say in cases relating to citizens’ health. When a violation report is filed, there should be seized evidence and investigation procedures, and the case should be referred to the court, not managed through understandings with government bodies or political meetings. As for the issue of affected workers, the government’s responsibility here is to place the company’s assets under custody, temporarily run it again for the workers’ benefit and pay their wages until the company rectifies its status.”
Adly considers that what happened reflects a crisis of trust between citizens and the government, explaining: “People woke up to find a chain that owns 110 branches and employs 25,000 workers closed all at once, without a clear or transparent announcement of the reasons, which required direct intervention by the President of the Republic following an appeal for help launched by the company, and this shows a flaw in the mechanism of decision-making and implementation.”
On the other hand, economic expert Dr. Ahmed Shawky believes that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s intervention in the crisis and allowing the company to rectify its status represents, from his perspective, a positive message to investors. He explains that “this intervention sends a reassuring message that any investment crisis can be resolved at the highest levels, while the absence of such an intervention would have been interpreted as a message driving away local and foreign capital”.
Parliament discusses shop licences
Coinciding with the public controversy over the closure of the B-Laban chain of shops, the Local Administration Committee of the House of Representatives announced on Wednesday its intention to hold a session in parliament in the coming days to examine the problems of commercial shop licences in light of the Public Shops Law, and to remind the relevant bodies of the need to speed up the issuance of licences and civil protection codes, to make things easier for citizens and so that the state obtains its dues in fees and taxes.
According to the law, anyone wishing to open a commercial shop in Egypt must obtain a licence, and the penalties for operating a shop without a licence include imprisonment for no less than six months and no more than one year, in addition to a fine and the closure of the shop at the violator’s expense. The required documents include a copy of the national ID card or passport.
The Public Shops Law No. 154 of 2019 sets shop licence fees according to a number of criteria, including the type of activity, the location and size of the shop, and how widespread the activity is in the area and the number of shops in it.
Dr. Adel Amer, legal expert and head of the Egyptians Center for Political, Legal, Economic and Social Studies, attributes, in a statement to Zawia3, the spread of unlicensed branches of the “B-Laban” chain to its reliance on the old shop licensing system, which allowed the owner of a commercial activity, after licensing the main branch, to open new branches in various governorates without the need for additional licences, as long as he had a commercial register and a tax card. However, the new Public Shops Law issued in 2019 changed this situation, as it stipulated the need to refer to the Supreme Committee for Public Shop Licences before opening any new branch, and to obtain its prior approval based on an examination of the application submitted by the owning company.
Amer explains that food specifications in Egypt are governed by strict controls, which the National Food Safety Authority is responsible for applying, as the legal body tasked with setting technical standards and quality specifications and granting licences for food products. In the event that these standards are violated, the authority has the right to intervene immediately to halt the activity until the status is rectified.
Amer attributes President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s intervention in the “B-Laban” crisis to the social dimension linked to the issue, given the size of the workforce the chain represents, which reaches about 25,000 workers, who are at risk of losing their source of livelihood if the closure decision continues.
On the other hand, experts believe that the political authority’s intervention in this file, even if it carried reassuring messages to investors and an attempt to ease the obstacles before them, bypassed the usual legal and administrative paths, which raises questions about the independence of the regulatory bodies and the effectiveness of law-enforcement tools in similar cases.
This crisis concludes with indications that it is not only about a single company, but represents a real test of the food oversight system in Egypt, and opens a wide door to a comprehensive review of licensing, inspection and accountability mechanisms, in a way that guarantees the protection of citizens’ health without sacrificing investor confidence or workers’ rights.
Editorial correction: The first version of the report stated that Saint Kitts and Nevis was removed from the European Union’s blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions in February 2020; the correct position is that it was removed from it on 25 May 2018, according to a decision of the Council of the European Union and an announcement by the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis on the same day.
