UAE-led operation identifies $39 billion in funds and crypto assets linked to fraud

Traders Union
All News
Crypto
$39 billion linked to fraud

Top Stories

Editors' Picks

Stocks

Crypto

Economics

Currencies

Commodities

Business & Wealth

Market Voices

23.10.2026

UAE-led operation identifies $39 billion in funds and crypto assets linked to fraud — UAE-led operation uncovers $39B linked to crypto fraud

An international operation led by the United Arab Emirates has identified more than $39 billion in funds and digital assets linked to fraudulent schemes. Law enforcement authorities arrested over 960 people and prevented 123.71 million online fraud attempts.

According to Gulf News, the UAE Ministry of Interior announced the results of Operation Confrontation Ghost. The investigations involved representatives from 30 countries, Interpol and 13 private companies, including cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.

The operation took place from July 1 to September 30, 2026. Authorities focused on financial crimes involving digital platforms, AI-powered fraud and online sexual extortion.

How criminals used cryptocurrencies

According to the organizers, criminals used bank accounts, digital platforms and crypto assets to transfer illicit proceeds and conceal their origins.

During the operation, investigators identified more than 3,500 suspects and over 15,500 victims. Law enforcement agencies exchanged more than 9,000 pieces of intelligence.

Authorities also froze 4,126 bank accounts, shut down more than 570 social media pages linked to fraud and conducted raids on 29 criminal operations centers.

The total value of identified funds exceeded $39 billion. However, authorities did not disclose what proportion involved cryptocurrencies or specify which digital assets were used in the criminal activities.

The figure also does not mean that the funds have already been confiscated. Law enforcement and judicial authorities are continuing efforts to recover the assets.

Crypto.com and Mastercard join anti-fraud operation

Thirteen private companies participated in the operation, including Crypto.com, Mastercard, Meta, TikTok, Huawei, Group-IB and Trend Micro. They assisted in identifying suspicious activity, sharing intelligence and combating criminal networks.

Organizers also reported using tokenization technology to improve the security of more than 4 billion financial transactions each month. Details of how the mechanism was implemented were not disclosed.

A similar money laundering scheme is under investigation in Poland. Local authorities arrested eight Ukrainian nationals and one Belarusian woman in connection with the alleged laundering of more than $90 million obtained through investment fraud.

Investigators identified a 34-year-old Ukrainian national as the suspected organizer of the Polish scheme. According to authorities, he coordinated cash collection and the subsequent movement of funds within Poland and abroad.

Earlier, we reported that Chinese authorities are seeking to confiscate Bitcoin linked to a $5.7 billion fraud scheme. The case involves digital assets that investigators have connected to large-scale financial crimes.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.

Did you like the article?

Editor's Picks for You

From Bitcoin to AI: How crypto companies are reinventing their businesses

By Olena Litvinenko
13 hours ago

From Bitcoin to AI: How crypto companies are reinventing their businesses

Editors' Picks

Trezor security chief: It's easier to trick users than hack a crypto wallet

By Eugene Komchuk
14 hours ago

Trezor security chief: It's easier to trick users than hack a crypto wallet

Editors' Picks

How Ozempic and weight-loss drugs are quietly deflating beer volumes

By Dmytro Kharkov
15 hours ago

How Ozempic and weight-loss drugs are quietly deflating beer volumes

Editors' Picks

All Editors' Top Picks

Latest UAE News

Apollo nears stake purchase in Mubadala Capital as Abu Dhabi ties deepen

By Oleksii Zaichenko
12 hours ago

Apollo nears stake purchase in Mubadala Capital as Abu Dhabi ties deepen

Financial Institutions

Greater Manchester Emirati-linked land ownership expands over decade amid scrutiny of investment ties

By Ashutosh Sureka
Yesterday

Greater Manchester Emirati-linked land ownership expands over decade amid scrutiny of investment ties

Business & Wealth

#Real Estate #UAE

London restaurants expand in Gulf as UK tax pressures weigh on growth

By Mira Kyivska
24.10.2026

London restaurants expand in Gulf as UK tax pressures weigh on growth

Business & Wealth

#Business #UAE #Food Industry

Olena Litvinenko
13 hours ago

From Bitcoin to AI: How crypto companies are reinventing their businesses

Eugene Komchuk
14 hours ago

Trezor security chief: It's easier to trick users than hack a crypto wallet

Dmytro Kharkov
15 hours ago

How Ozempic and weight-loss drugs are quietly deflating beer volumes

Pavlo Kot
Yesterday

Q-Day for BTC: What happens if a quantum computer breaks Bitcoin?

Pavlo Kot
24.10.2026

The cost of failure: Five of the most expensive digital outages

Mykhailo Ihnatenko
52 min ago

Final OCC approval granted to Ripple National Trust Bank, Stuart Alderoty notes

Yaroslav Dmytrenko
54 min ago

Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple National Trust Bank receives final approval from U.S. OCC

Ksenia Gerey
1 hour ago

Steve Burns: New traders should focus on trading swings and trends

Elena Nikulina
1 hour ago

Coreweave short trade named as winner, Raoul Pal notes

Igor Krasulya
1 hour ago

Suze Orman: Evaluating retirement plans for Linda and Neil with $10,000 monthly income

Top News

Olga Shendetskaya
8 hours ago

Brent holds above $110 as attacks in Saudi Arabia rattle oil markets

Brent holds above $110 as attacks in Saudi Arabia rattle oil markets

Igor Krasulya
9 hours ago

EU prepares new tariffs on Chinese goods as trade tensions rise

EU prepares new tariffs on Chinese goods as trade tensions rise

Eugene Komchuk
11 hours ago

Anthropic files for IPO, plans Nasdaq listing

Anthropic files for IPO, plans Nasdaq listing

Eugene Komchuk
12 hours ago

Brazilian markets plunge after presidential election

Brazilian markets plunge after presidential election

Eugene Komchuk
14 hours ago

Trezor security chief: It's easier to trick users than hack a crypto wallet

Trezor security chief: It's easier to trick users than hack a crypto wallet

Top 5 companies for you

United States

Live News

Hanna Syniavska
Now

Revolut launches UK personal loans as it expands beyond everyday banking

Anton Kharitonov
Now

EUR/USD remains under pressure as eurozone growth weakens ahead of ECB decision

Hanna Syniavska
Now

Turkey tightens investor rules after fund crisis affects at least 500,000 people

Pavlo Kot
Now

Bank of Israel rejects Netanyahu's proposal to use crypto to bypass sanctions

Ezequiel Gomes
Now

New York attorney general seeks $1.37 billion from NovaTech crypto scheme founders

© IAFT Ltd., 2010-2026 All rights to the website are owned by IAFT Ltd.,
Registration number - HE 336186

Risk disclosure:

Information on the TradersUnion.com website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any motive or suggestion to visitors to invest money. Moreover, we hereby warn you that trading on the Forex and CFD markets is always a high risk. According to the statistics, 75-89% of customers lose the funds invested and only 11-25% of traders earn a profit. Trading in futures and options carries substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor.

That is why you should only invest money that you are prepared — or can afford — to lose at such high risks. Tradersunion.com does not provide any financial services, including investment or financial advisory services. Also, the Traders Union is not a broker and does not get money for trading in the Forex or CFD markets. Our website only provides information on brokers and the markets and helps its users to select the best brokerage company based on detailed information and objective analysis of brokers.
Disclaimer:

Traders Union (TradersUnion.com) shall not be liable for the consequences of trading decisions made by the Client and for the possible loss of his capital resulting from the use of this website and information published on it.

Forex market, CFD and cryptocurrency trading involves high risks and is not suitable for everyone. Before investing money, you need to adequately assess the level of your expertise and be aware of the risks, particularly in the context of trading with leverage. The information on this website is not intended for distribution or use by any person in any country or jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be in violation of the local law or regulation. Any payments by Traders Union (TradersUnion.com) to the users of our website shall be legally interpreted solely as an incentive on our part for the activity on the website in the form of a deduction of a part of the advertising income; they shall not be a subject of any claims of our users or our obligations, a subject of disputes, as well as cannot be considered in relation to the services provided to users by brokers, both in fact and in their completeness and volume. The administration of the website shall not be liable for the content of user comments and reviews about the companies and shall not verify whether the authors of the reviews are indeed real clients of a specific company. All reviews, both negative and positive are published on the website without verification of their reliability; only offensive reviews that call for violence or any kind of discrimination and also reviews published from one group of IP addresses are moderated and removed. The authors of the materials shall be fully liable for the accuracy, completeness and impartiality of any information in the articles and reviews, including in the context of their use or mention of any brand names or trademarks. All mentions of the names of companies and their brands in any materials on the website shall be made in the context of communication of socially important information to the people about their activities by independent journalists, who are the authors. All evaluations and indicators on the website express the subjective opinion of the authors of the reviews (articles) and shall not be viewed as accurate statements and be a subject of disputes and claims against Traders Union.
Disclosure of advertisers and revenues:

All the services on the Tradersunion.com website are free for you to use. Our team spends thousands of hours per annum researching brokers and gathering information about them to help investors all over the world to choose reliable companies and to avoid fraudsters.

Indeed, the curating, sourcing, and organization of this process requires substantial financial investment by Tradersunion.com, which the website earns in the form of advertising payments. There are two types of advertising services on the website — direct advertising or partner (broker) participation programs. However, no services purchased by our partners shall affect the recommendations on our website, or our opinions, or ratings. Our ratings are based on our objective rating criteria and methodology; and the results are always equally and fairly applied to each broker. The work of our content authors and research groups does not involve any interaction with our advertisers and they do not have access to data concerning the amount of advertising purchased. For over 10 years we consider our independence, absolute openness, and objectivity as our main priority. Please follow the links to each of our affiliated broker’s websites. This will help Tradersunion.com to continue to provide our services to you for free.