Bahrain joined 29 other countries to participate in an international operation aimed at combating digital fraud. Led by the UAE, the initiative operated under the name Confrontation Ghost Operation. The mission took place between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026. Authorities involved in the effort identified more than $39 billion in funds and digital assets tied to suspected fraudulent activity. This multi-national collaborative project targeted illicit financial flows across global networks. Investigations conducted during the three-month period focused on tracking assets linked to digital schemes. By the conclusion of the operation on 30 September 2026, participants had successfully mapped the movement of these identified funds.
Scope of Fraud Prevention
Authorities thwarted more than 123.71 million online fraud attempts worldwide during the operation. This effort involved the tracking of digital schemes across global networks to prevent the illicit transfer of assets. Officials from Bahrain worked alongside counterparts from 29 other nations, including Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, China, Singapore, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Norway, Ecuador, Romania, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Denmark, Myanmar, Brazil, Italy, the Maldives, Sweden, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Slovakia, Kenya, Morocco, and South Korea to secure these networks. Organizations such as INTERPOL and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance monitored the data throughout the mission. Sadiq Mohsen noted that the volume of intercepted attempts reflects the scale of digital threats identified by participants in Vienna, Austria. These figures account for all recorded instances of blocked fraudulent activity identified by the participating countries between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026.
Arrests and Victim Identification
Law enforcement agencies executed more than 960 arrests as a direct outcome of the international mission. Investigators further identified over 3,500 suspects and 15,500 victims throughout the course of the operation. These individuals were linked to various digital schemes monitored by the participating nations between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026.
Operational teams also moved to neutralize the digital and financial infrastructure used by these entities. Authorities blocked 4,126 bank accounts to prevent the movement of illicit capital. Additionally, teams closed more than 570 social media accounts that were actively utilized to facilitate fraudulent activities and engage potential targets.
Official results concerning these detentions and account closures were presented during the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The announcements took place on 21 October 2026 and 22 October 2026 in Vienna, Austria. Delegates at the conference reviewed the data compiled by the participating countries, including Bahrain, to assess the impact of the crackdown on transnational organized crime networks.
