Ads for Islamic investment platform showing burning US and euro banknotes banned
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Six ads for an Islamic investment platform showing US dollar and euro banknotes on fire have been banned after a regulator ruled they were likely to cause serious offence. The posters for Wahed Invest, seen in September and October on Transport for London (TfL) services including tubes and buses, featured images of Muslim preacher Ismail ibn Musa Menk and Russian former professional mixed martial artist Khabib Abdulmanapovich surrounded by the flaming banknotes.
They showed the two men pointing upwards with their index fingers and large text stating “Join the Money Revolution” above Wahed’s logo. Three of the posters showed Mr Menk holding an open briefcase filled with US dollar and euro banknotes on fire, with two of them stating “Withdraw from Exploitation” and “Withdraw from Riba”.
A poster stated: “Charging people to borrow money was once called exploitation. Sadly, that perception has changed and now interest has caused a massive wealth gap, enriching the few while the majority get poorer. Join the growing community moving their money to a fairer system, one that serves you! Download Wahed now. Join the Money Revolution.”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 75 complaints that the ads were offensive. Wahed, which described itself as an investment platform allowing consumers who were predominantly Muslim to invest in a manner which aligned with their faith and values, said it often used the term “Riba”, which was an Arabic word that meant “excess” and was commonly used to describe the prohibition of interest under Islamic law.
