Police in the United Arab Emirates and Sweden have arrested seven people after investigators traced cryptocurrency transactions through an international money laundering network that allegedly handled 70 million Swedish krona ($7.1 million) and had financial links to organized crime and contract killings.
According to the UAE Ministry of Interior, the suspected leader was arrested in the Emirates while six other alleged members of the network were detained simultaneously in Sweden following coordinated investigations between authorities in both countries.
The suspected leader, a Swedish national, had fled Sweden and was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice. UAE authorities tracked his location after what the ministry described as extensive searches, investigations and monitoring carried out through intelligence sharing with Swedish police.
Investigators said the network moved roughly 70 million Swedish krona over a 10 month period. Cash generated from criminal activity was allegedly collected and redirected to other criminal groups, while cryptocurrencies were used to transfer and move the value of some of the funds.
Tracing the network’s cryptocurrency transactions became part of the investigation into where the money was moving and who was connected to it.
The Ministry of Interior said analysis of the crypto transfers and other digital evidence helped investigators identify financial connections with other alleged criminal activity, including organized crime and contract killings. Authorities did not identify the cryptocurrencies involved or disclose the wallets, exchanges or transaction amounts traced during the investigation.
Blockchain transaction trails have increasingly been used in international investigations involving illicit financial networks. In July, crypto.news previously reported that an INTERPOL led operation spanning 97 countries and territories resulted in 5,811 arrests and the interception of $293 million in illicit assets.
Operation First Light, which ran from Jan. 15 through April 30, targeted social engineering scams and the laundering infrastructure supporting them. Authorities identified more than 142,000 victims, blocked over 31,000 bank accounts and used INTERPOL’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism to freeze suspicious fiat and cryptocurrency transfers.
One investigation uncovered during the operation involved Thai police tracing a suspected cryptocurrency laundering network that allegedly moved romance scam proceeds through several digital assets and cross chain swaps. A wallet belonging to one suspect had processed more than $122.5 million during a 10 month period, according to INTERPOL.
Another international operation announced in August produced 58 arrests and identified 263 suspects after investigators examined the financial systems used by West African organized crime groups. The eight month operation involved authorities from 22 countries, including the UAE, and focused on bank accounts, digital wallets, shell companies and other infrastructure used to move proceeds from fraud.
Swedish authorities have already been increasing efforts to identify and seize digital assets linked to suspected criminal activity.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called for more aggressive enforcement against cryptocurrency connected to criminal networks in 2025, asking police, the Swedish Tax Agency and the Enforcement Authority to increase their use of asset seizure powers.
Sweden’s approach followed changes that allowed authorities to seize property when ownership cannot be reasonably explained, even without establishing a direct connection between the property and a specific offense. By mid 2025, authorities had seized 80 million Swedish krona, then worth around $8.4 million, under the rules.
Strömmer specifically called for agencies to improve coordination when targeting high value assets such as cryptocurrency and said it was “time to turn up the pressure.” A 2024 assessment by the Swedish Police Authority and Financial Intelligence Unit had identified some crypto exchanges as services used to move proceeds from drugs, fraud and other criminal activity. Sweden’s crypto crackdown followed recommendations for law enforcement to increase its presence on cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Swedish police have separately documented the use of young recruits in gang violence and contract killings. In May, police said 23 bystanders had been killed and another 30 wounded in gang related shootings over the previous three years, according to the information cited by the UAE ministry.
Criminal groups have used social media and encrypted messaging services to recruit paid killers, including teenagers below the age of criminal responsibility, Swedish authorities said.
Authorities carried out the seven arrests at the same time after investigators established the suspected leader’s location in the UAE.
Brigadier Abdulaziz Al Ahmad, director general of the Federal Criminal Police at the UAE Ministry of Interior, said authorities would “continue to track criminal networks, disrupt their sources of financing, and take legal action against anyone seeking to exploit the country’s territory for criminal activities.”
Cross border cooperation has become a recurring part of investigations involving cryptocurrency and organized financial crime. In May, police from China, the United States and the UAE conducted their first joint crackdown against telecom and online fraud operations in Dubai.
Chinese authorities said the operation dismantled nine fraud sites and resulted in 276 arrests. Investigators said suspects had used social media to establish fake romantic relationships before directing victims toward purported high return cryptocurrency investments.
In the latest Sweden UAE investigation, Anders Wiberg, police commissioner and head of the Swedish Police Authority’s international division, described cooperation with the Emirates as “a key factor in achieving the successful outcome of this case.”
Legal proceedings have been opened against all seven suspects following the coordinated arrests. Authorities have not publicly named the alleged leader or the six people detained in Sweden, nor have they disclosed the specific charges each suspect faces.
