Last week, a Dubai Police-led international crackdown on a fraud ring led to the arrest of 276 people and the closure of at least nine cryptocurrency fraud centers, the US Department of Justice revealed on Wednesday.
In the pond action Together with the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, Dubai authorities arrested 275 people, and an additional person was arrested by the Royal Thai Police.
Six people were charged with fraud. According to the Department of Justice, four defendants and two fugitive co-conspirators were charged in federal court in San Diego with federal fraud and money laundering. Each offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and ponderous fines.
“The charges and arrests announced today reflect the international consensus that fraud centers are unwelcome everywhere and must be rooted out… In today’s society, fraud knows no bounds, and neither does the efforts of law enforcement to combat and eliminate them,” said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Andrew Tysen Duva.
Earlier this month, the FBI reported that Americans’ losses from cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence fraud exceeded $11 billion in 2025, with investment scams considered the most damaging.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Fraudsters used fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms to defraud victims
All six defendants are accused of working for three different companies running fraud centers, promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms and defrauding victims into making deposits.
FBI investigators identified multimillion-dollar losses caused by the criminal network.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s determination to identify, disrupt and dismantle these global fraud centers defrauding Americans regardless of where they operate,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office.
European police have busted a fraud network employing 450 people
Meanwhile, in a separate police operation involving Austrian and Albanian authorities, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, ten people were arrested in connection with three fraud centers in Tirana and Albania, Europol he said on Wednesday.
Inside one of the closed fraud centers. Source: Europol
According to Europol, victims were attracted to “apparently legal online investment platforms” advertised on social media and promising profitable investments.
Once registered, they were assigned a fraudulent broker who pressured them to make investments. Losses from the program are estimated at more than 50 million euros ($58 million) and have affected people around the world.
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“The scale and professionalism of the criminal network was evident in its structure, which included up to 450 employees in various departments, including customer acquisition managed by conversion agents and customer service managed by retention agents,” Europol said.
“Additionally, the network had dedicated teams for management, finance, IT, human resources and various back-office activities.”
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