US, China partner on scam center takedown in Dubai

At least nine scam centers in Dubai were raided in a joint operation between U.S. and Chinese law enforcement agencies that led to 276 arrests.

The Justice Department said the operation began last year following “numerous” victim complaints to the FBI by U.S. victims who lost millions through cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes. With the help of information from social media giant Meta, financial data and cryptocurrency records, federal agents traced the schemes back to Dubai. 

Prosecutors announced federal fraud and money laundering charges against four people accused of running the scam centers, including 27-year-old Burmese national Thet Min Nyi and Indonesian nationals Wiliang Awang, Andreas Chandra and Lisa Mariam. Two unnamed fugitive co-conspirators were also charged. 

Thet Min Nyi allegedly served as a manager and recruiter for a front company called Ko Thet Company while the others ran two organizations called Sanduo Group and Giant Company. All three were used to conduct pig-butchering schemes involving fake investment opportunities. 

Wiliang Awang was arrested in Thailand by the Royal Thai Police while the Dubai Police Department conducted a coordinated raid on the nine scam centers that led to the arrests of Thet Min Nyi, Andreas Chandra and Lisa Mariam. 

The DOJ did not elaborate on the status of the 276 people arrested in Dubai. Scam centers across Asia are fueled by human trafficking and are often staffed by people held against their will.  

“These scammers thought they were safe half a world away,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

The Dubai operation and coordination with Chinese authorities comes after some U.S. officials accused Beijing of using recent scam center takedowns to deepen their control over Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. 

Several U.S. government experts said there is also explicit coordination and financial commingling between Chinese state-backed investment projects and scam centers — the vast majority of which are controlled by Chinese gangs.

The DOJ-led Scam Center Strike Force has announced an array of law enforcement action in 2026 designed to address cyber scams — which siphoned $16 billion from Americans to cybercriminals last year. The sanctions, arrests and raids continue to lead to chaotic scenes across Southeast Asia as scam centers shut down and reopen.