Sharjah Police have dismantled four international criminal networks involved in an elaborate AED8.8 billion ($2.4 billion) cyber fraud and money laundering operation, arresting 33 suspects and securing more than AED65 billion in corporate assets in one of the UAE's major crackdowns on organised cross-border financial crime.
The operation, conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and codenamed 'END OF THE BATTLE', also resulted in the seizure of more than AED200 million in funds and assets, while safeguarding over 30 companies and institutions worldwide from potential financial losses.
According to a report by Emirates News Agency (WAM), the coordinated action targeted four interconnected criminal networks specialising in cyberattacks, money laundering through virtual assets, digital wallet theft, online fraud, extortion, trafficking in compromised data and violent assault.
The networks, which used artificial intelligence and sophisticated encryption technologies to conceal their activities, operated across multiple countries, with their leaders posing as wealthy businesspeople and investors.
Lieutenant General Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, said the operation led to the arrest of 33 suspects from 12 nationalities, including the leaders of the criminal networks, and the auditing and verification of more than 3,000 digital wallets.
He said the action had also helped avert potential economic repercussions that could have affected digital asset markets worldwide.
AED8.8bn money laundering trail
Providing details of the financial investigation, Anwar Al Harmoudi, Attorney General of Sharjah, revealed that the value of funds involved in the money laundering offences had reached AED8,825,381,741.50.
The money was transferred through bank accounts, digital wallets and multiple international platforms, using companies and intermediaries to conceal its origins and obscure the financial trail.
Investigations uncovered a highly organised criminal structure in which victims were initially lured through fraudulent schemes or had their accounts hacked, allowing the networks to seize their money and digital assets.
The proceeds were subsequently moved rapidly across borders before being converted into property, luxury vehicles, expensive watches, jewellery and other investments to give them an appearance of legitimacy.
Al Harmoudi said the scale of the transactions, the sophisticated organisation of the networks and the speed at which funds were transferred between countries made tracing the proceeds and identifying their ultimate beneficiaries particularly challenging.
The case involved 33 suspects and six legal entities.
Luxury assets seized
The operation resulted in the confiscation of more than AED200 million, alongside the seizure or freezing of 17 luxury vehicles, 29 valuable watches, jewellery, a residential villa, two villas under construction and two residential plots of land.
Searches also uncovered cold digital wallets, narcotic substances, counterfeit currencies and counterfeiting equipment.
Bin Amer said Sharjah Police's Digital Crime Combat Department had uncovered a highly complex criminal infrastructure operating through encrypted networks and closed digital platforms accessible only to members of the organisation.
The suspects maintained an outward appearance of legitimacy, travelling between international capitals and displaying lavish lifestyles while secretly managing criminal operations extending across national borders.
He said the success of the operation demonstrated the UAE's ability to confront increasingly sophisticated transnational crime through proactive policing and close coordination between federal, local and international security agencies.
"What has been achieved in this case is the result of integrated institutional work, continuous security efforts, and close cooperation and coordination with federal, local and international authorities," he said.
He added that the operation went beyond dismantling the networks and arresting their members, helping protect corporate interests, secure substantial assets and prevent wider economic and security repercussions.
Bin Amer also commended the Ministry of Interior and other security agencies for facilitating international cooperation and intelligence-sharing, which proved instrumental in bringing down the criminal networks.
