UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has found himself at the center of controversy after appearing in promotional content for Wahed Invest. It is a financial services company that markets itself as offering Shariah-compliant investment products.
The advertisement, which features the retired champion, has drawn criticism given the company’s troubling regulatory history and ongoing customer complaints.
In the promotional video, Khabib delivers his passionate response when presented with Wahed’s services, enthusiastically endorsing the platform as a halal alternative to conventional financial products. The former lightweight champion’s involvement has raised eyebrows among fans and financial watchdogs alike, particularly given his massive influence within Muslim communities worldwide.
Wahed’s track record with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paints a concerning picture. In 2024, the company was slapped with a $250,000 fine for violating marketing regulations.
The SEC’s findings were damning: Wahed had used endorsements from professional athletes without disclosing that these individuals were compensated and weren’t actually clients of the service.
The violations didn’t stop there. The company advertised hypothetical performance data on its website without ensuring the information was appropriate for its intended audience. This is a serious breach of investor protection standards.
This wasn’t Wahed’s first brush with regulators. Two years earlier, in 2022, the SEC ordered the company to pay an even heftier $300,000 penalty for misleading statements and breaching its fiduciary duty to clients. Among the violations: advertising proprietary funds that didn’t actually exist for nearly a year, using client assets to launch an ETF without properly disclosing conflicts of interest, and—perhaps most ironically for a company marketing itself as Shariah-compliant—failing to maintain written policies ensuring Shariah compliance.
Beyond regulatory scrutiny, Wahed faces growing dissatisfaction from its user base. The company holds a modest 3.3-star rating on Trustpilot, with numerous customers reporting difficulties withdrawing their own funds.
Some users claim they’ve been unable to access their money for six weeks or longer, with Wahed citing compliance reviews despite customers providing extensive documentation including bank statements and tax returns.
One particularly troubling account describes a customer waiting over two months for their funds. After filing a regulatory complaint, Wahed allegedly closed their account, claiming terms and conditions violations without specifying which rules were broken.
Customer service responsiveness has also become a common grievance, with reviewers describing support teams as unresponsive when serious issues arise.
Financial analysts have also criticized Wahed’s fee structure. The company charges a 1% annual management fee plus an additional 0.65% ETF fee—rates considered exceptionally high in today’s competitive investment landscape. Critics argue these costs significantly eat into potential returns, particularly problematic for long-term investors.
The 2022 SEC order revealed another broken promise: despite advertising periodic portfolio rebalancing, Wahed failed to deliver on this basic investment management service.
Wahed’s aggressive marketing tactics have sparked controversy beyond American shores. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority banned one of the company’s campaigns after receiving 75 complaints.
The ads featured burning U.S. dollar and euro banknotes and included an Islamic preacher, with messaging suggesting that interest-based lending fuels wealth inequality. Regulators deemed the campaign likely to cause serious offense.
For a company already fined for undisclosed paid athlete endorsements, Khabib’s participation raises questions about transparency and whether fans understand the nature of such promotional relationships.
