The UAE’s State Security Apparatus has broken up a clandestine network tied to Hezbollah and Iran that had embedded itself inside the country’s economy using fake commercial fronts, the agency announced.
Operatives used the cover of legitimate business activity to pursue what the SSA described as a coordinated plan to launder money, finance terrorism, and undermine national financial stability — all while violating the UAE’s economic and legal regulations.
The SSA said the network did not act independently, but followed a pre-established strategy developed in coordination with external parties linked to both Hezbollah and Iran. All members have been arrested.
“Any attempt to exploit the national economy or civil institutions for terrorist or subversive purposes will be met with firmness and force,” the SSA said in a statement, adding that no external interference threatening the country’s security or stability would be tolerated, regardless of its source or the form it takes.
The agency did not disclose the number of individuals detained, their nationalities, or how long the network had been active inside the UAE.
