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High reported severity Investigation Opened

UAE investigators say fraudsters cloned a company director's voice to have a Hong Kong branch manager transfer up to $35 million in early 2020

According to a court document reported by Forbes, in which the United Arab Emirates sought US investigators' help, fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the voice of a company director. In early 2020 a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognised as the director of the parent business, who said an acquisition needed transfers of about $35 million; emails from the supposed director and a lawyer confirmed the details, and the manager began making the transfers. Forbes reports that as much as $35 million was stolen. The UAE, whose Dubai Public Prosecution Office led the investigation, believes at least 17 people were involved and asked for help tracing $400,000 sent to US accounts. No arrests or recovery are reported.

AI system
Unidentified voice-cloning tool
Occurred
2020
Reported
14 October 2021
Event location
Hong Kong SAR China
What the AI did
Communicated with the person · Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
4 claims: 4 reported. 6 open questions
People reported harmed
Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

AI system as recorded: 'Deep voice' technology used to clone a company director's voice, according to a UAE court document reported by Forbes (tool not named)

What Happened

The call. Forbes reported on 14 October 2021, from a court document in which the United Arab Emirates sought American investigators' help, that in early 2020 a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognised as the director of his parent business. The caller said the company was about to make an acquisition and needed transfers of about $35 million; emails in the manager's inbox from the supposed director and from a lawyer confirmed what money should move where. Believing everything was legitimate, the manager began making the transfers.

The AI attribution. According to the court document as reported, the fraudsters had used 'deep voice' technology to clone the director's speech. The UAE, whose Dubai Public Prosecution Office led the investigation, believes the scheme involved at least 17 people and sent the money to bank accounts around the world; it sought help tracing $400,000 that went into accounts at a US bank. Forbes says little more detail was given in the document and no victim was named. How the investigators established the voice cloning is not stated.

Corrections. Forbes first described the deceived man as a bank manager in the UAE and later as a bank manager in Hong Kong; after the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted it, Forbes updated the article on 2 May 2023 to say the affected company was an unnamed Japanese business. Gizmodo's same-day relay describes a UAE bank and predates these corrections.

Reported harm

According to a UAE court document reported by Forbes, a cloned voice of a parent company's director led a Hong Kong branch manager to begin transfers of about $35 million, and as much as $35 million was stolen.

Outcome

Unknown

The UAE investigated the heist, with the Dubai Public Prosecution Office leading, and sought US investigators' help in tracing $400,000 of the stolen funds sent to accounts at Centennial Bank (Forbes, from the court document). Forbes reports that little more detail was given in the document. No arrest, charge or recovery is reported in the inspected sources.

What remains unknown

  • How the investigators established that the voice was cloned with AI; the court document's technical basis is not reported.
  • When the call took place: Forbes says early 2020, while Gizmodo, relaying the same court document on 14 October 2021, says it took place 'last January'.
  • How much money was actually lost; Forbes says as much as $35 million.
  • Where the director whose voice was cloned is based; Forbes's subtitle places him in the UAE while the updated text describes the parent business of a Japanese company.
  • Whether anyone was arrested or charged, and whether any funds were recovered.
  • Which tool was used to clone the voice.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The UAE's court document, as reported by Forbes, says the fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the director's speech; the UAE investigators led the inquiry, but how they established the cloning is not disclosed. The cloned voice spoke to the branch manager (communicated_with) in the person of the parent business's director (depicted_or_impersonated), and the account connects that call to the transfers.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported In early 2020 a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognised as the director of his parent business, who said transfers of about $35 million were needed for an acquisition, and the manager began making the transfers.

Causal attribution. Forbes's account of the UAE court document; the parties are not named.

  • forbes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    In early 2020, a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognized—the director of his parent business.; so he needed to authorize some transfers to the tune of $35 million; The manager, believing everything appeared legitimate, began making the transfers.
Reported According to the UAE's court document as reported, the fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the director's speech, and the UAE believes the scheme involved at least 17 people who sent the money to bank accounts around the world.

Causal attribution. The investigators' account in the court document, relayed by two outlets from one origin; the technical basis is not disclosed.

  • forbes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    one in which fraudsters had used “deep voice” technology to clone the director’s speech, according to a court document unearthed by Forbes; involving at least 17 individuals, which sent the pilfered money to bank accounts across the globe.
  • gizmodo.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    Dubai investigators have revealed that the crooks “used ‘deep voice’ technology to simulate the voice of the director.”
Reported The UAE, with the Dubai Public Prosecution Office leading the investigation, sought US investigators' help in tracing $400,000 of the stolen funds that went into accounts at Centennial Bank.

Causal attribution. Forbes's report of the court document.

  • forbes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    has sought American investigators’ help in tracing $400,000 of stolen funds that went into U.S.-based accounts held by Centennial Bank; The Dubai Public Prosecution Office, which is leading the investigation
Reported Forbes reports that as much as $35 million was stolen, and after publication updated the article to say the affected company was an unnamed Japanese business, following contact from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Causal attribution. Forbes's own reporting and its correction note.

  • forbes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    Cybercriminals cloned the voice of a company director in the U.A.E. to steal as much as $35 million; UPDATE: After publication, the U.A.E. Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation contacted Forbes to note that the affected company was an unnamed Japanese business, though the Dubai investigators were leading the probe.

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 from Internet Archive captures of 2022 and 2025 (the live site returned HTTP 403); the 2025 capture shows the article as updated on 2 May 2023. Reports a UAE court document; no translation needed. Applies to s1.

Read live in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Same-day relay of the Forbes report quoting the court document; its description of a UAE bank predates Forbes's corrections. No translation needed. Applies to s2.

Event countries: Hong Kong SAR China. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: United States.

Forbes's updated article places the deceived branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong; the UAE investigated because the heist affected entities there. No harmed person is counted, so no affected-person country is recorded. The court document is the UAE's request for American investigators' help over funds sent to US accounts, which Gizmodo says brought the case into the American judicial system, so the court country is US; the court itself is not named.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-22: Published as a core case (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated): a UAE court document reported by Forbes says fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone a company director's voice, and the cloned voice's call led a Hong Kong branch manager to begin transfers of about $35 million. The attribution is the investigating authorities'; its technical basis is undisclosed. No person is named.

People described

A branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong, deceived by the cloned voice of the parent business's director; the money lost belonged to the company

People reported harmed in this case

Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

The loss fell on the company; the sources describe the branch manager as the person deceived but report no personal loss or other harm to him or anyone else, so no person is counted (zero placeholders).

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#voice-cloning#ceo-fraud#bank-transfer-fraud#uae-investigation#hong-kong

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). UAE investigators say fraudsters cloned a company director's voice to have a Hong Kong branch manager transfer up to $35 million in early 2020. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2020-hong-kong-branch-manager-made-transfers-after-call-in-cloned-director-voice-uae-investigators-say

BibTeX

@misc{2020_hong_kong_branch_manager_made_transfers_after_call_in_cloned_director_voice_uae_investigators_say,
  title = {UAE investigators say fraudsters cloned a company director's voice to have a Hong Kong branch manager transfer up to \$35 million in early 2020},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2020-hong-kong-branch-manager-made-transfers-after-call-in-cloned-director-voice-uae-investigators-say}
}

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