News Desk
Operation Frontier+ III, a sweeping international effort to curb transnational scams and financial crimes, has officially begun, with participating countries preparing for a major press briefing on 20 May.
The operation is led by the Frontier+ Alliance, made up of anti‑scam centres and law‑enforcement agencies from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, Macau, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, separate from Maldives’ role in the operation.
Running from 10 March to May, the operation focuses on the fast‑growing categories of investment scams, romance scams, e‑commerce fraud, job and loan scams, phishing and impersonation of government agencies. Member states will carry out intensified enforcement, intelligence sharing and rapid response measures throughout the period.
Officials say the strategy rests on four pillars: immediate action, stronger international cooperation, timely intelligence exchange and data‑driven identification of scam networks. A key priority is tracing suspicious bank accounts, identifying money mules and intercepting illicit financial flows before they disappear across borders.
Preliminary results will be compiled by 13 May, with full statistics to be released at a press conference in Maldives later in the month. Figures will include arrests, disrupted networks and the value of frozen or recovered funds.
Last year’s operation saw the Maldives Police Anti‑Scam Centre recognised internationally for its success in tracing and recovering funds lost by Maldivian victims.
The Maldives Police Service said this year’s campaign will reinforce ongoing efforts to prevent scams and create more opportunities to identify offenders and return stolen money to the public.
