Dubai’s police force say they have arrested Nigerian Instagram celebrity Raymond Igbalodely, known as Hushpuppi, on allegations of fraud amounting to $435m (£346m).
In an operation police called “Fox Hunt 2”, 12 other people were arrested in six simultaneous raids in Dubai.
Nearly two million people from different parts of the world were said to have fallen victims to the plot.
The social media star was based in Dubai and claimed he was successful businessman.
The local authorities published video on Twitter, documenting the four-month investigation that led to the arrests.
Police say they discovered a hidden online fraud network that was committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonation, banking fraud and identity theft.
The group is accused of hacking corporate emails and cloning websites to redirect payments to their own accounts.
The Dubai police has not yet said when they would be charged.
.@DubaiPoliceHQ takedown “Hushpuppi”, “Woodberry”, ten international cybercriminals in a special operation dubbed “Fox Hunt 2”. pic.twitter.com/E8oOFHZftG
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 25, 2020
Source: bbc.com