"These scammers thought they were safe half a world away. But their world has changed. Global crime now faces global justice," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.
Dubai Police-led crackdown and international partners
A joint international operation led by Dubai Police under the UAE Ministry of Interior arrested at least 276 suspects and shut down nine cryptocurrency investment fraud centers, according to court records and law enforcement statements. The operation involved U.S. and Chinese authorities, with Thailand's Royal Thai Police also taking part in arrests, and European authorities reported a concurrent disruption of another ring that caused estimated losses of more than €50 million ($58.5 million) to victims worldwide.
Pig-butchering (romance baiting) schemes: how the fraud worked
Authorities described the networks as running so-called pig-butchering schemes, also called romance baiting. In those scams, fraudsters build fabricated friendships or romances to gain trust, then move victims to bogus cryptocurrency investment platforms that drain the transferred funds. Court documents state victims “immediately lost control of the transferred funds,” which were then laundered through additional cryptocurrency accounts. Investigators also recorded that scammers encouraged victims to borrow from family and to take out loans to invest more.
Charges, named defendants, and outstanding fugitives
Among the defendants arrested in Dubai, Burmese national Thet Min Nyi faces wire fraud and money‑laundering conspiracy charges and is identified in court documents as an alleged manager and recruiter for an operation called Ko Thet Company. Indonesian nationals Wiliang Awang, Andreas Chandra, and Lisa Mariam are charged with wire fraud conspiracy tied to two other alleged scam rings, Sanduo Group and Giant Company. Dubai Police arrested Thet Min Nyi, Chandra, and Mariam; Thailand's Royal Thai Police apprehended Awang; two additional co‑conspirators remain fugitives, according to the published account.
U.S. law enforcement response and the Scam Center Strike Force
U.S. prosecutors framed the operation as part of an expanding, cross‑border effort to pursue cryptocurrency fraud. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said, “Scam center organizers and fraudsters who defraud Americans and others will face justice in American courts and in courts around the world.” After investigators analyzed complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), they identified numerous victims across the United States and losses totaling millions of dollars from these cryptocurrency investment schemes.
In November, U.S. federal authorities established the Scam Center Strike Force, a new task force to disrupt cryptocurrency scam networks. The creation of that task force followed a Department of Justice seizure of $15 billion from the leader of Prince Group, described in DOJ materials as a criminal organization that stole billions from Americans through cryptocurrency investment scams.
Financial scale: IC3 complaints and the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report found that investment fraud accounted for 49% of all scam‑related incidents recorded that year, producing reported losses of $8.6 billion — up from $6.5 billion in 2024. Investigators reviewing IC3 complaints tied to the recent takedown said they identified victims across the United States and indicated millions in losses from the schemes dismantled by the international operation.
How law enforcement, investigators, and victims are affected
- Law enforcement: Prosecutors and police appear focused on cross‑border coordination, combining arrest operations with follow‑up prosecutions; the establishment of the Scam Center Strike Force and the large DOJ seizure signal sustained legal pressure on decentralized crypto fraud networks.
- Investigators and analysts: IC3 complaint analysis provided the investigative leads noted in the case, underscoring how victim reports can map transnational networks and identify losses funneled through cryptocurrency accounts.
- Victims and the public: Court records emphasize that victims often lose immediate control of transferred funds and may be pressured into borrowing or taking loans; the recent arrests address some networks but at least two co‑conspirators remained at large.
The arrests and center closures underscore an operational shift: authorities are pairing traditional criminal charges — wire fraud and money‑laundering conspiracy — with international coordination and asset seizures to counter schemes that move money across jurisdictions and platforms. The record released around these arrests leaves a clear next step visible in the facts: will the fugitives be apprehended and the seized assets traced to victims at scale? For now, law enforcement officials say the message is plain — distance is no longer a guaranteed refuge for organizers of large‑scale cryptocurrency fraud.
