A coordinated law enforcement operation spanning the United Arab Emirates and Sweden has dismantled an international money laundering network that allegedly converted criminal cash into cryptocurrency and funneled roughly 70 million Swedish krona ($7.1 million) to organized crime groups over a ten-month period. Seven suspects were arrested in simultaneous raids, including the alleged ringleader, a Swedish national who had fled the country and was tracked to the UAE.

The UAE Ministry of Interior confirmed that the suspected leader was apprehended in the Emirates while six other alleged members of the network were detained at the same time in Sweden. The ringleader was subject to an Interpol Red Notice, a global alert circulated among…