File Photo: Public Prosecution building. Ahram
The prosecution charged Aboul-Nasr, who was arrested on 19 February, and another individual with selling and advertising unauthorised herbs and drugs that were not issued or approved by the Ministry of Health and Population or any other concerned authority.
In a related case, a Cairo misdemeanour court sentenced Aboul-Nasr on Sunday to two and a half years in prison by over the same charges. That verdict can be appealed.
The misdemeanour court convicted on him of operating an office for advertising drugs and medical supplies without a license in addition to creating and managing social media pages for promoting and selling his products without a license.
Meanwhile, separate ongoing investigations have shown that Aboul-Nasr also ran a satellite channel and a YouTube page, impersonated a doctor to promote and sell his unauthorised products, which he claimed can cure various diseases.
The investigations confirmed that his placebo drugs were not approved by the ministry, according to the prosecution.
Prior to his arrest, many took to social media to accuse him of promoting and selling drugs without a permit.
Aboul-Nasr had appeared in many TV ads, including ones aired on major satellite channels, to promote his unlicensed products in an attempt to gain credibility and earn public trust.
The "Curcumin Doctor" graduated from Mansoura University in 2001 and, according to his LinkedIn profile, is “the first specialist certified by the Ministry of Health and Population for treatment using medicinal plants.”
He has two million followers on his verified Facebook page and had his own show ‘Asrar Wa Fawaa’ed’ (‘Secrets and Benefits’) on the privately-owned satellite channel Mehwar TV, which ran until 2021.
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