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Advertisements for an Islamic investment platform have been banned from London trains and buses showing burning US dollar and euro banknotes.
It came after a regulator ruled they were likely to cause serious offence.
The Wahed Invest posters, seen in September and October on Transport for London (TfL) services, featured images of Muslim preacher Ismail ibn Musa Menk and former professional martial artist Khabib Abdulmanapovich surrounded by the burning banknotes.
They showed the two men pointing up with their index fingers and large text reading “Join the Money Revolution” above the Wahed logo.
Three of the signs showed Mr Menk holding an open briefcase full of burning US dollar and euro bills, and two of them read “Withdraw from exploitation” and “Withdraw from Riba”.
One sign read: “Charging people to borrow money was once called exploitation. Unfortunately, that perception has changed and now the interest has caused a huge wealth gap, enriching a few while the majority become poorer. Join the growing community moving your money into a fairer system – one that works for you! Download Wahed now. Join the money revolution.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 75 complaints that the ads were offensive. The ASA said all the advertisements showed the words “United States of America” in flames and would have been seen by many people, including tourists from the United States and eurozone countries.
Wahed, which described itself as an investment platform that allowed predominantly Muslim consumers to invest in a way aligned with their faith and values, said it often used the term “Riba,” which was an Arabic word meaning “excess” and era Commonly used to describe the prohibition of interest under Islamic law.
Wahed told the ASA he recognized the coins were a symbol of national identity, but believed the burning of banknotes was not offensive and was portrayed in popular culture, such as film and television.
He said the burning of bills within the ads was designed to be a “powerful visual illustration” that money was akin to “going up in flames” when inflation grew faster than the savings rate.
TfL told the ASA it believed the ads complied with its advertising policy and the regulator's code.
It said it had received some complaints about the ads and had paused all Wahed Invest campaigns pending the outcome of an investigation.
The ASA said: “We acknowledged Wahed Invest's view that the burning of notes illustrated that money growing at a rate below inflation was decreasing in value in real terms.
“The ads represented the expression that viewers' money was 'burning in flames' and that images of burning money were often found.
“However, regardless of whether viewers would have understood that message or understood it as a defiant act designed to show defiance to financial institutions, the coins that were burned in all the ads were clearly visible as US dollar and euro bills. .
“We consider that some viewers, particularly people from the United States or eurozone countries, would have seen their nation's currency as culturally significant and a symbol of their national identity.
“While we acknowledged Wahed Invest's view that they had not directly criticized a specific group and that depictions of burning banknotes were common, we considered that the burning of banknotes would have seriously offended some viewers.
“We therefore concluded that the adverts were likely to cause serious offence.”
Wahed launched in the US in 2019 and is backed by oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Wahed and TfL have been contacted for comment.
