INTERPOL Operation Jackal IV Arrests 58, Identifies 263 in Global Cyber Fraud Crackdown

Summary

INTERPOL's Operation Jackal IV, an eight-month global effort involving 22 countries, has resulted in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to West African organized crime groups. The operation targeted cyber-enabled financial fraud, including romance scams, crypto investment scams, and business email compromise, and also dismantled a major crime-as-a-service network. Authorities seized approximately €143 million globally, along with cash, cryptocurrency, properties, and luxury items.

Full text

INTERPOL Operation Jackal IV Arrests 58, Identifies 263 in Global Cyber Fraud Crackdown Ravie LakshmananAug 26, 2026Cybercrime / Online Scams An eight-month INTERPOL operation targeting West African organized crime groups has led to arrests of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects. "The operation, which brought together 22 countries from six continents, is a response to the escalating global threat posed by West African criminal networks – such as the Black Axe and other similar groups," INTERPOL said. "These groups are responsible for a significant share of the world's cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams or business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes." Countries that participated in the effort include Austria, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.A.E., the U.K., and the U.S. INTERPOL said the investigation identified 196 individuals for their role in a major crime-as-a-service (CaaS) network that's believed to have provided website domains and money laundering support to West African organized crime groups. Seventeen arrests have been made in connection with this case. Authorities also raided seven locations in Johannesburg for allegedly running romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. The syndicate functioned akin to a legitimate organization, with members assigned the roles of "conversion" or "retention" agents to handle various aspects of the operation. Another sophisticated investment scam running out of a call center was taken down in Romania. The scheme promised high returns in stocks and cryptocurrency assets and sought to trick unsuspecting users into parting with their money. The funds were then diverted to wallets controlled by the fraudsters, resulting in an estimated €143 million stolen and laundered globally. Police officials have arrested 11 individuals and seized approximately €330,000 ($379,000) in cash and cryptocurrency, six real estate properties, and several luxury watches. Elsewhere, one person was identified in relation to a pan-European money laundering network that used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to obscure fund origins. A single account laundered €845,000 (about $736,000) across 560 transactions using 20 different financial instruments. The latest effort is the fourth iteration of Operation Jackal, which took place between November 2025 and June 2026. It aims to dismantle money laundering, identify high-value targets, and seize illegal assets associated with West African financial crime. Hundreds of suspects have been arrested in prior waves - Operation Jackal I (September 26 to 30, 2022) - 75 arrests, 49 property searches, and €1.2 million intercepted in bank accounts Operation Jackal II (May 15 to 19, 2023) - 103 arrests, 1,110 suspects identified, 208 bank accounts blocked, and €2.15 million seized or frozen Operation Jackal III (April 10 to July 3, 2024) - 300 arrests, 400 suspects identified, and more than 720 bank accounts blocked "Operation Jackal IV demonstrates the power of international cooperation," Tomonobu Kaya, director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said. "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." Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News, Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE     Tweet Share Share Share SHARE  business email compromise, cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Financial Crime, Fraud, law enforcement, money laundering, Online Scam, Organized Crime, Social Engineering ⚡ Top Stories This Week Microsoft Patches Severe Entra ID Flaw (CVSS 10.0) Allowing Remote Code Execution ThreatsDay: Gogs 10.0 RCE, n8n Workflow-to-RCE, $10M Reward, GLM-5.3 AI Exploit, and More New Cryptographic Context Injection Attack Could Let Web Pages Steal Grok Chat Data Zombie Card Attack Can Revive Expired Visa Cards for Contactless Payments CDN Tsunami Attack Abuses HTTP/3 Translation for Up to 350x DoS Amplification Manic Android Malware Exfiltrates Data From Offline Phones via Nearby Infected Devices Cloudflare Workers Spectre Attack Leaks JWT From Co-Located Worker at 12 Bits/Second OpenAI Pauses Frontier RL Training as It Tightens Defenses Against Unsafe AI Behavior Hackers Compromised 14,500+ Dahua Devices Using Credential Attacks, Auth Bypasses, and P2P Microsoft Copilot Personal Flaws Could Let One Click Exfiltrate Data From Connected Apps AI "Mind Viruses" Can Spread Between Agents Through Persistent Prompt Files SafePal Hardware Wallet Maker Says Flaw Exposed Data of Nearly 40,000 Customers Critical GitLab GraphQL Flaw Could Let Unauthenticated Attackers Delete Public Projects ⚡ Weekly Recap: VMware Exploits, Windows 0-Day, MCP Attacks, Browser Hijacks and More Unisoc VoLTE Video Call Exploit Chain Can Give Attackers Full Android Kernel Access Evooo1Bot Linux Botnet Exploits Known Flaws to Turn Edge Devices Into SOCKS5 Proxies SAP Commerce Cloud CVE-2026-58231 Targeted in Exploitation Attempts Days After Patch Hackers Spend Nearly $7 Million on Expired Domains to Redirect Traffic to Scams and Malware Apple Warns Users in 110 Countries They May Be Targets of Mercenary Spyware Trump Memo Paves Way for U.S. Firms to Hack and Disrupt Foreign Crime Groups GeoServer Zero-Day Targeted in Active Exploitation Attempts, Can Lead to RCE Attackers Exploit SharePoint Authentication Bypass After Public PoC Release Lazarus Exploits Windows Zero-Day to Gain SYSTEM Access and Deploy Backdoor Attackers Exploit VMware vCenter Vulnerability to Gain Persistent Remote Access ShieldBreak Zero-Day PoC Claims Microsoft Defender Patch Bypass With SYSTEM Access ⭐ Featured Resources See How Keeper Secrets Manager Removes Hard-Coded Credentials Download the CISO's Guide to Smarter AI Security Investment Phishing Is Costing Security Teams More Than Ever — Read the New Report Build AI Agents and Automations Without Losing Security Control

Indicators of Compromise

• malware — Black Axe

Entities