Police Bust Gang Accused of Selling Fake Gold Coins and Bullion Using Forged Invoices

As part of ongoing efforts to combat fraud and scams targeting citizens, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of a criminal gang specializing in manufacturing and selling counterfeit gold coins and bullion bars to defraud consumers.

According to investigations conducted by the Public Security Sector, the gang consisted of six individuals, four of whom have prior criminal records. The suspects allegedly operated an organized scheme involving the production of fake gold coins and bars using melted copper poured into molds, before polishing the pieces with chemical substances to give them the appearance and shine of real gold.

Investigations revealed that the gang used a sophisticated method to deceive victims. The suspects reportedly purchased genuine sealed gold coins, opened the original packaging, replaced the authentic contents with counterfeit pieces, then resealed the packaging professionally to make the products appear genuine.

The gang also allegedly used forged invoices bearing fake stamps and seals attributed to well-known jewelry shops in an attempt to convince buyers that the products were obtained from legitimate and trusted sources.

Authorities further discovered that the suspects had rented a workshop in the First El Salam Police Department district in Cairo, where they carried out the manufacturing and preparation of the counterfeit items before distributing them to victims.

Following legal procedures, security forces arrested the suspects in Gharbia Governorate. Police seized 63 counterfeit gold coins, five fake gold bullion bars of various weights, 18 empty packages belonging to a gold bullion company, quantities of gold jewelry, cash sums, 10 mobile phones, manufacturing tools, and six blank invoices carrying forged seals attributed to jewelry stores.

During questioning, the suspects confessed to carrying out their criminal activities using the aforementioned method and admitted involvement in six fraud cases.

Legal measures have been taken against the defendants, while the Ministry of Interior urged citizens to purchase gold jewelry, coins, and bullion only from trusted and authorized dealers, and to carefully verify invoices and product details before completing any transactions.