Authorities from the United Arab Emirates, Interpol and law‑enforcement agencies in 30 countries concluded a three‑month operation that identified more than $39 billion in funds and digital assets linked to fraud.
Operation details
Named Operation Confrontation Ghost, the effort ran from 1 July to 30 September 2026 and targeted AI‑enabled scams, financial fraud on digital platforms and online sextortion. The Emirates News Agency reported that the operation stopped at least 123.71 million attempted fraud incidents worldwide.
During the operation, more than 960 suspects were arrested, 29 fraud centres were raided and over 3,500 individuals were identified as suspects. Authorities also blocked 4,126 bank accounts and closed more than 570 social‑media accounts. Victim counts reached 15,500, and investigators exchanged over 9,000 pieces of intelligence.
International participation
Participants included Interpol, the Global Anti‑Scam Alliance and private companies such as Crypto.com, Meta, Mastercard and TikTok. The operation highlighted the use of tokenisation technology to secure billions of monthly transactions, which officials said helped reduce fraud risk.
Official comments
Colonel Dana Al Marzouqi, director‑general of the Interior Ministry’s International Affairs Bureau, said real‑time intelligence sharing enables faster detection of suspicious activity and tracing of illicit money flows. Dr. Monica Juma of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime described the effort as a model of international cooperation, noting the need for stronger counter‑measures against AI‑driven scams and cryptocurrency‑based money laundering.
Related enforcement actions
The United States Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force recently seized a Telegram‑based scam marketplace and restrained about $52 million in cryptocurrency in a single day, bringing its total restraints since November 2025 to roughly $938 million. Federal data indicated crypto investment fraud losses of $8.65 billion in 2025, an increase of 89 % from 2023, though officials said the true figure is likely higher.
