The UAE has led an international digital fraud crackdown in which hundreds of arrests were made and more than $39 billion in illicit funds and assets uncovered.
Operation Confrontation Ghost – overseen by the Ministry of Interior – thwarted more than 123.7 million online fraud attempts worldwide, blocked 4,126 bank accounts, shut down 570 social media accounts and involved 29 raids on locations linked to fraud.
The major crime-fighting campaign brought together law enforcement agencies from 30 countries, Interpol, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and 13 private-sector partners specialising in technology, digital platforms and financial services.
The three-month drive – conducted from July 1 to September 30 – focused on three major forms of digital crime: AI-enabled fraud, digital financial fraud and online sextortion.
The cross-border collaboration resulted in the arrest of more than 960 people, the identification of a further 3,500 suspects and 15,500 victims of crime and the exchange of more than 9,000 pieces of intelligence.
The operation helped to secure more than four billion financial transactions made each month through tokenisation technology, bolstering user data protection and curbing fraud threats.
The UAE's partners in the organised crime clampdown included the UK, Japan, Korea, Canada, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Ecuador, Jordan and Bahrain.
Private sector support in tackling wide-ranging fraudulent activity was provided by the likes of the UAE's Bayut and Dubizzle, as well as social media giants Meta and TikTok.
Fighting financial crime
Col Dana Al Marzouqi, director-general of the International Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Interior, said the operation demonstrated the importance of international partnerships in addressing fraud networks that seek to exploit online platforms, financial services and emerging technologies to conduct cross-border criminal activities.
She said the Ministry of Interior continued to strengthen co-operation with countries, international organisations, and technology and financial services companies to combat transnational digital fraud and protect both the public and organisations.
Dr Monica Juma, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, described Operation Confrontation Ghost as a model of international co-operation in addressing emerging forms of crime.
She stressed that the growing use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in fraud, alongside the exploitation of digital platforms, bank accounts and cryptocurrencies to transfer funds and conceal their origins, highlighted the need to continue to bolster counter-measures and strengthen global collaboration.