Sharjah Police bust 4 gangs in Dh8.8 billion crypto money laundering case

Sharjah Police have dismantled four gangs behind an alleged Dh8.8 billion crypto money laundering operation, Khaleej Times reported. The gangs were linked to hacking, fraud and violent attacks on wallet holders. Police announced the ‘End of Battle’ operation in Sharjah on Thursday, seizing over Dh200 million and referring 33 accused to court.

How did Sharjah Police dismantle the crypto money laundering gangs?

Investigators reached a minor suspect found with a digital wallet holding substantial funds, then identified a key intermediary linking the networks. Interpol helped locate suspects abroad, and key suspects were brought back to the UAE. Evidence was submitted to prosecutors, and police said the leaders and members of all four networks were arrested.

Police announced the details at a media briefing at Sharjah Media City. They called it the biggest case in the force’s history and one of the most complex cross-border organized crime investigations worldwide.

Lt. Gen. Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, commander-in-chief of Sharjah Police, said the operation protected more than 30 companies and institutions globally. He said it safeguarded assets worth over Dh65 billion and prevented potential economic repercussions for global digital asset markets.

The 33 accused individuals and companies were referred to the Sharjah Criminal Court. They include six corporate entities, and the individuals come from 12 nationalities. Investigators scrutinized and verified more than 3,000 digital wallets.

How did the four gangs operate?

Maj. Gen. Omar Ahmed Balzoud, director-general of criminal security and ports at Sharjah Police, said the group did not rely on a single method. Four networks handled different stages of the alleged offenses.

• The first hacked systems and stole data.
• The second laundered proceeds through virtual assets.
• The third used social engineering to manipulate victims into giving up information or taking actions that exposed their digital wallets.
• The fourth carried out violent assaults to force victims to reveal wallet passcodes.

Officials said victims were threatened, and their relatives were threatened or harmed, in incidents across several countries inside and outside the UAE. Police said this split of roles let the organization target individuals, businesses and institutions across borders while hiding its structure and leadership.

Investigators traced the suspects to a concealed group on a social media platform. The group used a code that changed every eight hours to protect its communications. It had a tightly structured hierarchy, and its activities were hidden behind encrypted layers and closed online networks open only to members.

Some suspects allegedly stole databases, and others sorted the information and offered it for sale on the dark web. The stolen data was also used in phishing and fraud through social engineering supported by artificial intelligence tools. A separate part of the group received cryptocurrency taken from victims, then redistributed and laundered it through virtual assets.

Who were the key suspects and what plots were stopped?

Brig. Dr. Khalifa Balhai, director of the Criminal Investigation Directorate, said investigators reached the minor suspect after tracking the group’s activities and members’ movements. Police said he played an important role in laundering virtual assets for people involved in fraud, hacking and cyber extortion. The initial police presentation said he had advanced digital skills and an understanding of financial markets.

Further surveillance identified the intermediary connecting the networks. Police said he worked with the young suspect to launder cryptocurrency and hide financial movements. He was allegedly involved in assault, kidnapping, digital wallet theft, and possessing and selling stolen data on the dark web.

Police said the intermediary allegedly worked with a group of foreign nationals on a plan to kidnap digital wallet owners. Officers arrested him and stopped the plot. Balzoud said the operation also prevented a plan to kill a member of the organization who owned a digital wallet.

Police separated these thwarted plots from violent offenses they said were already documented in the UAE and abroad.

How much money was involved in the Sharjah crypto money laundering case?

Sharjah Public Prosecution put the value of funds in the alleged laundering offenses at Dh8,825,381,741.50, about Dh8.8 billion. Sharjah Attorney General Anwar Amin Al Harmoudi described a connected chain. The group deceived victims, hacked their accounts, took their money and digital assets, hid the proceeds, and converted them into property and investments.

Funds were routed through bank accounts, digital wallets and multiple platforms. Companies and intermediaries were used to disguise the movement. The money was then invested in property, luxury cars, expensive watches and jewelry.

Prosecutors said the scale of the funds, the group’s structure and the speed of cross-border transfers made the money harder to trace. It also complicated efforts to identify the ultimate beneficiaries.

Police said the suspects presented themselves as businesspeople and investors. They traveled between international capitals and displayed wealth while allegedly running criminal activities in secret. The opening presentation described luxury cars, private aircraft, valuable jewelry and high-end property.

What did police seize in the crypto laundering operation?

Raids and searches uncovered digital wallets through which billions had moved. Police also found cash, electronic devices and other assets worth hundreds of millions of dirhams. Some of the cash was genuine and some counterfeit, and police said fake notes were used in fraud.

Seized or attached assets included:

• 17 luxury cars
• 29 expensive watches
• Jewelry
• A residential villa
• Two villas under construction
• Two residential plots

Officers also placed a luxury residence in Dubai under seizure. Searches turned up cold wallet devices, which store cryptocurrency credentials offline. Police also found drugs, counterfeit currency and counterfeiting equipment, and put the overall value of confiscated funds and assets at more than Dh200 million.

How did prosecutors build the case?

Prosecutors ran legal, digital and financial investigations in parallel to establish the group’s structure and trace its proceeds. The team examined more than 10,000 documents and reports. It carried out 142 investigation records and sessions, issued 385 decisions and 478 judicial orders, and analyzed 103 electronic devices.

The proceedings also involved 12 search authorizations, 109 requests coordinated with the Financial Intelligence Unit, and eight requests or procedures for international cooperation. Judicial, security, technical and regulatory bodies worked together to establish the suspects’ roles, trace money flows, freeze accounts and locate linked assets.

What did Sharjah Police say about the operation?

Bin Amer credited cooperation between federal, local and international bodies, backed by the Ministry of Interior and Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of interior. The investigation involved Sharjah Police, the Ministry of Interior and other security agencies.

“What has been achieved in this case is the result of integrated institutional work, sustained security efforts, and close cooperation and coordination with federal, local and international authorities,” he said.

He said the operation went beyond arrests and stopping the activities. It also protected assets and limited potential economic and security consequences.

Bin Amer also praised prosecutors and the judiciary. He said anyone using digital technology to commit crimes would face a security system equipped to track them down and bring them to justice.