Sharjah Police arrest 33 in crackdown on $2.4bn global money

Sharjah Police have arrested 33 people from 12 countries accused of cyber fraud , digital wallet theft, money laundering and violent assault.

Police said they were members of an organised criminal network who targeted individuals and companies through cyber attacks, stolen data, cryptocurrency transactions and physical intimidation. The arrests were the result of an international operation and carried out in the UAE and abroad.

The suspects are accused of operating as four separate gangs, each specialising in one area.

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The first group carried out cyber attacks and stole customer information and databases, police said.

The second gang specialised in laundering money through virtual assets and other financial channels, and the third used social engineering to manipulate victims and steal digital wallets.

Members of the fourth group are accused of violent assaults, allegedly targeting victims to force them to disclose passcodes to their digital wallets.

Sophisticated layers of encryption

Lt Gen Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, commander-in-chief of Sharjah Police, told a press conference on Thursday that more than 30 companies and institutions were targeted by the criminal network, with the operation securing the assets of companies worth Dh65 billion. More than Dh200 million in cash was seized, with 3,000 digital wallets audited and verified.

“What distinguished this gang was that it did not rely on a single type of criminal activity,” he said.

The Sharjah Police Digital Crime Combat Department “uncovered the highly complex and concealed infrastructure of the organisation, whose members had made the deepest reaches of cyberspace a for their activities”, he said.

The suspects are accused of hiding their activities behind sophisticated layers of encryption, moving through closed networks.

In public, they “cultivated an image of wealth, travelling between world capitals and displaying a lavish lifestyle that concealed a framework managed secretly, and they appeared to be legitimate businesspeople and investors, while their illegal activities extended across countries”.

Sharjah Police said initial inquiries alerted them to one suspect in particular, a 15-year-old boy.

“We traced the networks and their locations until we reached the teenager,” said Brig Dr Khalifa Balhai, director of Sharjah CID. “He had a digital wallet with huge amount of cryptocurrency. We traced all the suspects through the teenager.”

It was discovered the gang had set up a group on social media, which was locked by a code that changed every eight hours.

“What has been achieved in this case is the result of integrated institutional work, continued security efforts, and close co-operation and co-ordination with federal, local and international authorities,” Lt Gen bin Amer said.

“These efforts led to the dismantling of these networks and groups, the arrest of their members and the thwarting of their plans.

“This confirms the efficiency of the UAE's national security system and its ability to handle various cases, regardless of their complexity or whether they extend beyond its geographical borders, and to keep pace with security challenges efficiently and competently.”

The security operation, called End of Battle, has also served to protect interests and assets, he added.

Anwar Al Harmoudi, Attorney General of Sharjah, said the investigation “revealed a cross-border criminal organisation with integrated criminal roles, beginning with seizing victims’ funds through fraud and hacking”.

The suspects are accused of converting stolen assets into property and other investments to give the appearance of legitimacy.