The Maldives Police Service recorded a 21 percent scam recovery rate in Operation Frontier+, marking the highest recovery rate among seven Asian countries that participated in the month-long joint operation to fight cross-border fraud.
Held from April 28 to May 28, the operation focused on disrupting scam transactions and recovering stolen funds.
It marked the first mission under the Frontier+ network, launched and spearheaded by Singapore’s Anti-Scam Command.
In a statement on Sunday, Maldives police said that 199 scam cases were reported in the Maldives during the operation, in which victims lost about MVR 2.91 million. The police recovered MVR 640,000, giving the Maldives a 21 percent recovery rate, which was the best among all participating countries.
Inspector of Police Adam Naveed, head of the Anti-Scam Center, and Inspector Sham Mohamed, who leads scam investigations, represented the Maldives in the joint operation.
Head of the Anti-Scam Center, Inspector of Police Adam Naveed (L) and Inspector Sham Mohamed (R). (Photo/Maldives Police Service)
The broader effort brought together agencies from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Macau, and the Maldives. Thousands of reports were processed, leading to arrests and ongoing investigations across the region.
The operation wrapped with a high-level meeting in Hong Kong on June 3, followed by a live press briefing with international media.
During the operation, 2,7784 law enforcement officers from seven countries were deployed, successfully identifying and dismantling multiple cross-border scam syndicates.
In total, 1 858 individuals, some as young as 14 years, were arrested, involving 9,268 scam cases, with a total loss amounting to USD 308 million. A total of 32,607 bank accounts were frozen, and 19.4 million fraudulent funds were intercepted.
Operation Frontier+ took place from April 28 to May 28.
Beyond the numbers, the operation helped agencies coordinate faster responses, freezing scam-linked accounts, sharing data, and improving how stolen money is traced and recovered across borders.
Naveed said the operation shows just how essential international cooperation is in the fight against digital scams.
“Criminals don’t stop at borders, and neither should we. Frontier+ gives us the tools and partnerships we need to protect our people and bring scammers to justice,” he said.
The Maldives police reaffirmed its commitment to regional cooperation through the Frontier+ network and similar initiatives to protect citizens and improve international enforcement.