Three former US intelligence operatives who worked as cyber spies for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) admitted to violating US hacking laws and prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology, under a deal to avoid prosecution announced on Tuesday.

The operatives - Marc Baier, Ryan Adams, and Daniel Gericke - were part of a clandestine unit named Project Raven, first reported by Reuters, that helped the UAE spy on its enemies.

At the behest of the UAE’s monarchy, the Project Raven team...