Interpol arrests 58 in crackdown on crypto investment scams

INTERPOL has reported 58 arrests, 263 identified suspects and $2.67 million seized after a 22-country operation targeted crypto investment scams, romance fraud and money laundering networks.

According to an official INTERPOL release published on Aug. 25, Operation Jackal IV ran for eight months from November 2025 through June 2026 and focused on the financial systems used by West African organized crime groups.

Authorities from 22 countries across six continents took part in the operation, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Argentina, Nigeria, Romania, and several European countries.

Investigators focused on groups such as Black Axe and similar criminal organizations accused of running romance scams, fake cryptocurrency investments, business email fraud, and other financial crimes. Police also tracked the shell companies, bank accounts, digital wallets, and outside service providers used to receive or conceal stolen money.

During the operation, INTERPOL helped participating agencies exchange intelligence across borders, analyze financial activity, and coordinate enforcement work. The organization also provided specialist training to investigators handling money laundering cases.

“By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organized crime and making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities,” said Tomonobu Kaya, director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre.

Interpol crypto scam operation leads to 58 arrests

Operation Jackal IV resulted in 58 arrests and the identification of another 263 people suspected of links to the targeted criminal networks, according to INTERPOL.

In Argentina, federal police uncovered a Crime-as-a-Service network suspected of supplying website domains and money laundering support to West African crime groups. Investigators identified 196 people connected to the operation and arrested 17 suspects.

An INTERPOL Operational Support Team assisted Argentine authorities with the examination of seized information. The team analyzed the material for links among suspects, criminal groups, and overseas partners while helping local investigators develop additional leads.

South African authorities conducted the largest enforcement action reported in the operation, arresting 39 people during raids at seven locations in Johannesburg. Police linked the sites to a group accused of running romance and investment scams against retirees in English-speaking countries.

According to INTERPOL, members of the network handled different stages of the fraud, with some working as “conversion” agents and others serving as “retention” agents. Such roles involved turning initial contacts into paying victims and persuading existing victims to continue sending money.

Police seized $2.67 million, blocked 257 bank accounts, and collected evidence during the Johannesburg raids. An INTERPOL support team also worked in South Africa to help local investigators examine the network’s financial and international links.

The agency’s release lists 17 arrests in Argentina and 39 in South Africa, accounting for 56 of its stated 58 arrests. However, the same release separately reports 11 arrests in Romania, bringing the country-level figures mentioned in the statement to 67. INTERPOL did not explain whether the Romanian arrests were included in its headline total or treated as the result of a connected investigation.

Romanian investment scam allegedly moved €143 million

Romanian police dismantled a call center accused of offering investors large returns from stocks and cryptocurrencies. INTERPOL said the suspects redirected victims’ deposits to electronic wallets under their control rather than placing the money in genuine investments.

Investigators estimated that the group stole and laundered about €143 million worldwide. Police arrested 11 people and seized approximately €330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and several luxury watches.

In Italy, investigators identified one person suspected of involvement in a money laundering network operating across Europe. According to INTERPOL, the network used shell companies, remittance services, and cash withdrawals to hide the source of funds.

A single bank account processed €845,000 across 560 transactions involving 20 financial instruments, the agency said. Investigators did not report an arrest in the Italian case, and the inquiry remained tied to the identification of one suspect.

Operation Jackal IV also found that some West African crime groups were buying Crime-as-a-Service tools from outside providers, often through dark web markets. INTERPOL said such arrangements allowed fraud groups to outsource website infrastructure, money laundering, and other technical work instead of managing every part of their operations internally.

In July, crypto.news reported another INTERPOL operation that produced 5,811 arrests and intercepted $293 million in illicit assets across 97 countries and territories. Operation First Light also identified more than 142,000 victims and blocked over 31,000 bank accounts while targeting romance scams, investment fraud and related money laundering.

Thai police uncovered a crypto laundering network during that earlier operation, with INTERPOL saying one wallet processed more than $122.5 million over 10 months. Investigators alleged that the network moved romance scam proceeds through several digital assets and used cross-chain swaps to make the money harder to trace.

U.S. authorities pursue overseas crypto scam proceeds

The United States was among the 22 countries participating in Operation Jackal IV, although INTERPOL’s release did not describe a specific U.S. arrest or asset seizure from the operation.

American authorities have separately pursued overseas networks accused of targeting U.S. residents with similar romance and crypto investment schemes. In July, the Department of Justice sought the forfeiture of $25 million in cryptocurrency recovered through five investigations involving suspected victims in the United States and Canada.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the five cases involved fake cryptocurrency platforms and laundering networks with links to China, Malaysia and Cambodia. Prosecutors said the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force had seized more than $800 million since its creation in November 2025.

One of the investigations involved more than 270 suspected victim transfers and approximately $10.4 million in cryptocurrency, while another covered over 200 romance scam victims and $12.1 million in assets. Under the civil forfeiture process, eligible victims may seek compensation if courts approve the government’s claims to the recovered funds.

During a separate June enforcement action, Coinbase froze over $3 million in cryptocurrency tied to alleged Southeast Asian scam networks. The exchange worked with the DOJ, Meta, Microsoft, Starlink and overseas law enforcement agencies to identify financial transfers and online infrastructure linked to romance and investment fraud.

Meta disabled more than 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups connected to suspected scams, while Microsoft suspended about 20,000 accounts. Starlink terminated service for thousands of internet kits associated with suspected unlawful activity, and the Royal Thai Police arrested 63 people linked to scam operations.