Headline: INTERPOL’s Operation Jackal IV cracks down on West African crypto fraud networks — 58 arrested, $2.67M seized, dozens more identified INTERPOL says an eight‑month, 22‑country enforcement push against crypto investment scams, romance fraud and money‑laundering linked to West African crime groups led to dozens of arrests, millions seized and hundreds of suspected accomplices identified. Key facts - Operation name: Jackal IV (ran November 2025 – June 2026). INTERPOL’s operational bulletin was published Aug. 25, 2026. - Participating jurisdictions: 22 countries across six continents, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, UAE, South Africa, Argentina, Nigeria, Romania and several EU states. - Results reported by INTERPOL: 58 arrests; 263 suspects identified; $2.67 million seized; 257 bank accounts blocked. (Note: INTERPOL’s country‑level totals in the same release also list 11 arrests in Romania, creating an unexplained discrepancy with the headline 58 arrests.) What investigators targeted - Organized crime groups in West Africa — including Black Axe and similar networks — accused of operating romance scams, fake crypto investment schemes, business‑email compromise and related fraud. - The financial plumbing that keeps these scams going: shell companies, bank accounts, digital wallets, remittance services and outside technical providers that enable money laundering and conceal proceeds. How INTERPOL supported the operation - Cross‑border intelligence sharing and financial analysis. - On‑the‑ground Operational Support Teams that assisted local examiners with seized data, tracing links between suspects, groups and foreign partners. - Specialist training for investigators handling complex money‑laundering investigations. Country highlights - South Africa: The largest reported single enforcement action — raids at seven Johannesburg locations resulted in 39 arrests. Police allege a call‑centre operation that preyed on retirees in English‑speaking countries. Investigators described role specialization inside the network — “conversion” agents who turn initial contacts into paying victims and “retention” agents who keep victims sending money. Authorities seized $2.67 million, blocked 257 bank accounts and collected substantial evidence. INTERPOL teams aided the financial and international link analysis. - Argentina: Federal police uncovered a Crime‑as‑a‑Service network suspected of selling website domains and money‑laundering support to West African fraud groups. Investigators identified 196 people connected to the scheme and arrested 17 suspects. INTERPOL assisted in examining seized data and developing leads. - Romania: Authorities dismantled a call centre promising outsized returns on stocks and crypto. Investigators say victims’ deposits were redirected to wallets controlled by the operatives rather than invested; losses and laundering were estimated at roughly €143 million globally. Police arrested 11 people and seized about €330,000 (cash and crypto), six properties and luxury watches. INTERPOL’s release does not clarify whether these 11 arrests are included in the operation’s headline total. - Italy: Investigators traced a suspected Europe‑wide laundering network that funneled funds through shell companies and remittance services. One bank account processed €845,000 across 560 transactions. INTERPOL said the inquiry identified one suspect; no arrest was reported in the statement. Crime‑as‑a‑Service and dark‑web outsourcing INTERPOL highlighted a trend: West African groups increasingly buy ready‑made infrastructure from outside providers — website hosting, laundering services and other technical capabilities — often via dark‑web markets. That model lets fraud rings outsource complex work instead of running every piece in‑house. Context: bigger, ongoing international efforts - Operation Jackal IV follows other large INTERPOL campaigns. In July, a separate operation called First Light reportedly produced 5,811 arrests and intercepted $293 million in illicit assets across 97 countries, identifying more than 142,000 victims. That probe uncovered a Thai‑linked crypto laundering network through which one wallet allegedly processed more than $122.5 million in 10 months. - The U.S. also continues parallel enforcement: the Department of Justice sought forfeiture of $25 million in crypto recovered from five related investigations in July and says the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force has seized more than $800 million since November 2025. Individual cases described by U.S. prosecutors involved roughly $10.4 million and $12.1 million in alleged victim transfers. - Industry cooperation: In a June action, Coinbase froze over $3 million tied to alleged Southeast Asian scam networks. Meta, Microsoft and Starlink also took action: Meta disabled more than 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups tied to suspected scams; Microsoft suspended about 20,000 accounts; Starlink terminated service for thousands of internet kits linked to unlawful activity. The Royal Thai Police arrested 63 people in related probes. Why this matters for crypto users and platforms - Fraud networks continue to blend social engineering (romance scams), fake investment platforms and crypto rails to move and obscure stolen funds. - The growing Crime‑as‑a‑Service market lowers the technical bar for scammers, enabling faster, larger and more geographically dispersed campaigns. - Cross‑border law enforcement and private‑sector takedowns remain critical — but fragmentation in reporting and occasional discrepancies in totals underline the complexity of tracking transnational fraud. Bottom line Operation Jackal IV underscores that global law enforcement is stepping up coordinated efforts to choke off the financial lifelines of scam networks that exploit cryptocurrency and online platforms. Still, the evolving tactics — outsourcing, dark‑web services and cross‑chain laundering — mean crypto users, exchanges and investigators must keep adapting to stay ahead. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news