Police in the United Arab Emirates and Sweden have arrested seven people in an international money laundering case that authorities say relied on cryptocurrency transactions and led investigators to organized crime and contract killings.
Coordinated arrests in the UAE and Sweden
The alleged leader, a Swedish national who had fled Sweden and was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice, was tracked down and detained in the UAE, according to the Emirates News Agency, which cited the Ministry of Interior.
At the same time, six other suspected members were arrested in Sweden. Legal proceedings were opened against all seven. The ministry did not identify any of the suspects by name.
Authorities say the network moved 70 million krona in 10 months
The UAE Ministry of Interior said the network handled about 70 million Swedish krona, or roughly $7.1 million, over a period of 10 months. The funds were described as cash proceeds from criminal activity that were redirected to other criminal entities, while cryptocurrencies were used "to transfer and move the value of those funds."
Crypto tracing led to wider criminal links
According to the ministry, tracing the cryptocurrency transactions and analyzing digital evidence "helped uncover financial links to other criminal activities, including organised crime and contract killings."
Sweden has been pressing its police to pursue criminal use of crypto. Last year, the country’s Minister of Justice ordered law enforcement to increase seizures of illicit digital assets.
Contract killing has also been documented as a problem in Sweden. Swedish police said in May that 23 bystanders were killed and 30 were wounded in gangland shootings over a three-year period. Police said gangs used social media and encrypted apps to recruit paid killers, often teenagers below the age of criminal responsibility.
Officials point to intelligence sharing between the two countries
Brigadier Abdulaziz Al Ahmad, director general of the Federal Criminal Police at the UAE Ministry of Interior, said the country 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."
Anders Wiberg, police commissioner at the Swedish Police Authority and head of its international division, said cooperation with the UAE was "a key factor in achieving the successful outcome of this case."
The arrests were carried out simultaneously in both countries after what the ministry described as extensive searches, investigations, and close monitoring to identify the gang leader’s whereabouts. The operation followed direct security coordination and intelligence sharing between the two governments.