The FBI and Chinese police have taken part in a joint operation targeting scam networks in Dubai, in a rare show of cooperation ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China.
Dubai Police – which led the operation dubbed Tri-Force Sentinel – said at least nine scam hubs were dismantled and 276 suspects arrested, most of them from Southeast Asia.
“The operation delivered a decisive strike against three criminal syndicates and dismantled nine fraud centres behind high-yield investment scams (HYIS), ‘pig butchering’ schemes, and virtual currency fraud, all of which are among the fastest-growing forms of financial crime worldwide,” according to the Dubai Police statement released on April 28.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that the cooperation between the agency, Dubai Police and China’s Ministry of Public Security was “unprecedented”.
The US Department of Justice said three of the arrested were charged with federal fraud and money laundering charges in Southern California.
The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to crack down on Chinese nationals and others believed to be involved in scam centres accused of defrauding Americans, and more coordination with China to tackle these networks could be on the agenda when Trump meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.
