Ihusaan says Maldives’ anti-fraud capacity will improve through China-led alliance

Maldives Police Service is expected to strengthen its capacity to investigate telecom and cyber fraud after the country joined a China-led international alliance established to tackle online scams, Homeland Security and Technology Minister Ali Ihusaan has said.

Speaking to Dhauru in an interview in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, where the alliance was launched during an international public security forum, Ihusaan said the initiative comes as online scams have become a growing global threat.

He said the participation of more than 43 countries in the alliance was a significant development, particularly because cybercrime frequently involves perpetrators, financial networks and digital infrastructure spread across several jurisdictions.

“It is a very good initiative for a country with resources such as China to take the lead in this area, and it can be taken forward sustainably,” Ihusaan said.

“China is also a country that is highly advanced in technology, so this can bring significant progress to efforts against cybercrime.”

Ihusaan said cybercrime also poses a substantial challenge for the Maldives despite the country’s small population.

“Although the Maldives is small, a significant amount of cybercrime is also taking place in the Maldives,” he said, adding that many such offences involve parties operating outside the country.

According to Ihusaan, joining the alliance will provide Maldivian investigative agencies with greater access to intelligence and improve their ability to trace funds transferred outside the domestic banking system.

“With this alliance, we will have access to intelligence and greater capacity to investigate matters such as money being transferred outside our banking system,” he said.

He added that Maldivian authorities could also benefit from access to information held by participating countries and assistance from specialised units in those jurisdictions during investigations.

Ihusaan said these arrangements would help investigators follow financial trails linked to fraud cases and improve cooperation where suspects, accounts or other evidence are located overseas.

The minister also said the alliance is expected to support longer-term capacity building within Maldives Police Service.

“In the future, through this alliance, the capacity of the police in areas related to cybersecurity and telecom fraud will increase, and they will receive training and other resources,” he said.

“This is a significant improvement.”

The alliance is intended to strengthen cooperation between participating countries on telecom and cyber fraud through intelligence sharing, joint investigations, training and cross-border law enforcement coordination.

Maldivian authorities have increasingly identified online scams as a law enforcement concern, with many cases involving digital platforms and financial transactions extending beyond the country’s borders.