Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade General Organization for Export and Import Control

During his participation in the opening session of Broker League Conference in its third exceptional edition, Eng. Essam El Naggar, President of the GOEIC, explained that GOEIC has begun applying the legal procedures for registering the real estate brokers and real estate marketers in accordance with Law governing Commercial Agency Business and certain Commercial Brokerage and Real Estate Brokerage Businesses issued by Law No. 120 of 1982 and amended by Law No. 21 of 2022, which aims primarily to combat money laundering and financing terrorism.

The session tackled a group of key topics aimed at achieving balance and transparency within the real estate market, and establishing clear foundations for interaction between the various parties in the system.

He referred that the Real Estate Brokers Law came after meticulous study of the sectors most vulnerable to money laundering including gold, tourism, and real estate, the latter is the largest of these sectors, and that the real estate sector required a regulation for brokers and real estate marketers to ensure protection of the market and the purchaser.

He explained that the law does not address the investor or real estate developer, but rather focuses on real estate brokers who are the intermediaries who seek to conclude contracts and collect commissions in exchange for sale or rental of land or real estate between the seller and the buyer. He pointed out that more than 10,000 real estate brokers and real estate marketers have been registered with the GOEIC, and that their registration is subject to specific conditions, including: Egyptian nationality or passing more than 10 years for those who have acquired Egyptian nationality, and not having been previously convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty or any of the laws set forth in the Regulatory Article, in addition to the necessity of completing the procedures, mostly important the applicant for registration is not among those listed on the negative lists issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Unit. These lists are also published on the website to prevent the broker or marketer from selling units to such categories.

He also confirmed that the law prohibits the broker from being a government employee or a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. He stressed that the law protects all parties' rights, as the broker or real estate marketer shall register all transactions and sales contracts and provide the GOEIC when requested by the GOEIC.

He indicated that the penalties due to violating the law include imprisonment and fines depending on the violation. He stressed that the Executive Regulation of the Law will be issued soon, and training courses for real estate brokers and marketers will begin immediately upon their issuance, to ensure everyone's compliance with the new standards. He explained that a grace period will be granted to the individuals and companies to register their activities in accordance with the law before the commencement of the judicial control committees in inspecting real estate brokers and applying penalties, emphasizing that the aim is regulating the market, not punishing serious practitioners.

In closing his speech, he noted that the GEOIC monitors and follows up on market performance and ensure that real estate brokers and marketers comply with the law, in order to guarantee the protection of investors, developers and purchaser on an equal footing, stressing that the new regulation will contribute to enhancing confidence in the Egyptian real estate market and attracting more foreign investments, particularly under the rise in tourism and housing activity.

At the end of the dialogue session, Eng. Essam El Naggar was honored by the leaders of The Broker League conference in recognition of his contributions that added great value to the conference.