Interpol Operation Jackal IV nabs 58 in global crypto investment scam crackdown

Interpol has reported 58 arrests, 263 identified suspects, and 2.67 million USD in seizures after a 22-country operation targeted crypto investment scams, romance fraud, and money laundering networks run by West African organized crime groups, according to an official release published August 25.

Operation Jackal IV ran for eight months, from November 2025 through June 2026, and focused on the financial infrastructure used by groups such as Black Axe and similar criminal organizations accused of running romance scams, fake cryptocurrency investments, and business email fraud. Investigators also tracked the shell companies, bank accounts, digital wallets, and outside service providers these networks used to receive and conceal stolen money.

Six continents, one target: the money

Authorities from 22 countries across six continents took part, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Argentina, Nigeria, Romania, and several European nations. Interpol helped participating agencies exchange intelligence across borders, analyze financial activity, and coordinate enforcement work, while also providing 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.

Argentina uncovers crime-as-a-service supplier

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, analyzing the material for links among suspects, criminal groups, and overseas partners while helping local investigators develop additional leads.

South Africa’s Johannesburg raids produce the biggest haul

South African authorities conducted the largest single 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 targeting 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. Those roles involved turning initial contacts into paying victims and persuading existing victims to continue sending money. Police seized 2.67 million USD, blocked 257 bank accounts, and collected evidence during the raids, while an Interpol support team worked alongside local investigators to examine the network’s financial and international links.

Romanian call center allegedly moved 143 million euros

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 own control rather than placing the money in genuine investments. Investigators estimated that the group stole and laundered approximately 143 million euros worldwide. Police arrested 11 people and seized roughly 330,000 euros 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 euros across 560 transactions involving 20 financial instruments. No arrest was reported in the Italian case, and the inquiry continues.

An arithmetic note in the headline numbers

The operation’s country-level figures contain a small discrepancy worth noting. Interpol’s release lists 17 arrests in Argentina and 39 in South Africa, accounting for 56 of its stated 58 arrests. The same release separately reports 11 arrests in Romania, which would bring the country-level total to 67. Interpol did not explain whether the Romanian arrests were included in its headline count or treated as the result of a connected investigation. Either way, the enforcement sweep represents one of the broader coordinated actions against West African financial crime networks in recent years.

Why crypto scams stay at the center of these operations

Operation Jackal IV is the latest in a series of Interpol operations targeting the financial plumbing of transnational fraud. Fake cryptocurrency investment platforms have become a cornerstone of these schemes because they combine the emotional manipulation of romance fraud with the technical opacity of digital assets, letting criminal groups move victim funds across borders quickly through wallets and exchanges rather than traditional banking channels.

For regulators and law enforcement, the message of Jackal IV is that the focus has shifted from individual scammers to the ecosystem that supports them: the domain suppliers, the money mules, the shell companies, and the conversion agents who turn deception into spendable cash. Interpol’s model of embedding operational support teams with national police forces appears designed to replicate this playbook elsewhere, and the agency has signaled that follow-up operations are already in planning.