A coordinated international operation led by Dubai Police under the UAE Ministry of Interior, in partnership with the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, has arrested at least 276 suspects and shut down nine crypto scam centres used to defraud Americans, with millions in losses linked to the schemes.
Among those arrested are individuals from Burma and Indonesia, and several named suspects, including Thet Min Nyi, 27; Wiliang Awang, 23; Andreas Chandra, 29; Lisa Mariam, 29, plus two fugitive co-conspirators, have been charged with federal fraud and money laundering in the US.
According to the DoJ, the defendants managed three companies—Ko Thet Company, Sanduo Group and Giant Company—that operated multiple scam centres, employing pig-butchering and romance-baiting tactics to lure victims into bogus cryptocurrency investments. DoJ officials say funds were laundered to other crypto accounts, and that the FBI has notified almost 9,000 victims, saving an estimated $562 million as of April 2026 under Operation Level Up, which began in January 2024.
The crackdown also saw the seizure of a Telegram channel with more than 6,500 followers and the restraint of more than $701 million in cryptocurrency linked to money laundering from the scams.