33 suspects linked to money laundering detained in UAE — The National

In Sharjah, UAE, an international operation led by local police resulted in the detention of 33 people from 12 countries. They are suspected of involvement in cyber fraud, digital wallet theft, money laundering and violent attacks, The National reports.

Four groups in one network

According to Sharjah Police, those detained were part of an organised transnational network consisting of four separate groups. One of them allegedly carried out cyberattacks and stole customer data and databases. Another specialised in money laundering through virtual assets and other financial channels.

A third group is suspected of using social engineering methods to manipulate victims and steal their digital wallets. The fourth group, police say, was responsible for physical attacks: victims were allegedly forced to disclose passwords to digital wallets.

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Scale of the operation

Sharjah Police Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer said that the network was not limited to one type of criminal activity and concealed its operations behind several layers of encryption in closed networks. According to him, the network's members publicly cultivated an image of wealthy businessmen and investors.

Police say the network targeted more than 30 companies and institutions. During the operation, called End of Battle, more than 3,000 digital wallets were examined, more than 200 million dirhams in cash were seized, and assets worth more than 65 billion dirhams were secured. The suspects are also accused of involvement in laundering 8.8 billion dirhams, or about $2.4 billion.

Sharjah Attorney General Anwar Al-Harmoudi said that the investigation uncovered a cross-border criminal organisation with distributed roles, from obtaining victims' funds through fraud and hacking to investing illegal proceeds in real estate and other assets to make them appear legitimate.