Dubai Police have arrested four individuals who were part of a syndicate that allegedly defrauded hundreds of people through fraudulent online trading schemes, including the recently exposed Sigma-One Capital.Dubai’s Crackdown on Trading FraudsAccording to an announcement by Dubai Police, the four suspects claimed to represent reputable trading and investment brands, targeting victims via phone calls and social media advertisements.The syndicate operated several fraudulent trading brands, including Sigma-One Capital, DuttFx, EVM Prime, UTrade, EVA Markets, and Core Financial Markets. These platforms promised high and fast returns.The alleged perpetrators persuaded victims to transfer funds, which were then moved to accounts outside the United Arab Emirates.The arrests took place a few months after Khaleej Times revealed that Sigma-One Capital had disappeared with millions of dirhams belonging to UAE investors. That broker operated from the same office as Gulf First Commercial Brokers, which has since been vacated.Gulf First and Sigma-One were run from the same office, and staff reportedly used the names interchangeably. Sigma-One Capital claimed to be based in St. Lucia and listed a Dubai address in Musalla Tower.However, investigations reportedly found no evidence that the company ever operated from that address. It was also not authorised by UAE regulators such as the DFSA or SCA, leaving investors without any legal protection.Arrests Are Made, but How Many Are Convicted?Authorities’ efforts to tackle fraudulent investment schemes extend beyond the UAE. Recently, an Israeli businessman was arrested at Casablanca airport in Morocco after arriving from a family holiday in Dubai, over his alleged involvement in a forex fraud scheme. The arrest was carried out based on an Interpol warrant requested by German authorities.According to the allegations, the businessman had rented large office spaces in central Israel and several Eastern European cities around three years ago. There, dozens of employees allegedly posed as representatives of legitimate investment firms, targeting German citizens who were looking to invest their savings in forex markets.Israel’s police unit Lahav 433 launched its own investigation into the businessman and repeatedly obtained court orders to freeze assets worth tens of millions of shekels, including a villa in Herzliya valued at around 25 million shekels ($7.5 million). However, investigators were unable to collect enough evidence to file formal charges.In a separate case, authorities in Spain dismantled a €460 million crypto fraud network that defrauded over 5,000 victims worldwide, arresting five individuals connected to the operation.This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.