LYON, France – INTERPOL has announced 58 arrests and identified 263 suspects after an eight-month multinational operation targeting West African organised crime networks accused of running romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, investment schemes, business email compromise and money laundering across the world.
Operation Jackal IV ran from November 2025 through June 2026 and brought together police and financial investigators from 22 countries across six continents. INTERPOL said the operation focused on high-value suspects, illicit financial flows, criminal assets and evidence needed for prosecution. The agency singled out Black Axe and related West African networks as a growing transnational security threat.
The operation produced its largest arrest total in South Africa. Authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate accused of romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. Police arrested 39 people, seized US$2.67 million and blocked 257 bank accounts. INTERPOL said investigators found a structured operation where members worked as “conversion” or “retention” agents responsible for different stages of fraudulent contact with victims.
Argentina became another major focus. Investigators identified 196 people suspected of supporting a Crime-as-a-Service network supplying website domains and money laundering services to West African organised crime groups. Police made 17 arrests. INTERPOL deployed an Operational Support Team to analyse seized data and connect suspects with international investigative leads.
Romanian authorities dismantled a separate investment fraud operation run through a call centre. INTERPOL said victims lost an estimated EUR143 million through false stock and cryptocurrency investment offers. Police arrested 11 people and seized around EUR330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and luxury watches. Italian investigators also identified a suspect linked to a pan-European laundering network. One account processed EUR845,000 through 560 transactions using 20 financial instruments.
Tomonobu Kaya, director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said the operation showed the value of cross-border police cooperation.
“Operation Jackal IV demonstrates the power of international cooperation,” Kaya said. He said investigators were following illegal financial flows across borders to make criminal networks less able to profit from fraud.
Black Axe has drawn sustained attention from police agencies for years. INTERPOL describes the group as one of the most prominent West African transnational organised crime syndicates, linked to cyber fraud, human trafficking, drug smuggling and violent crime across Africa and abroad. U.S. prosecutors have also pursued alleged Black Axe members and leaders accused of romance fraud, advance-fee scams, business email compromise and money laundering.
The U.S. Department of Justice said a Nigerian man pleaded guilty in 2024 after prosecutors linked him and associates to Black Axe members involved in schemes which caused more than US$1 million in losses to at least 15 victims and entities. Prosecutors said some elderly and vulnerable victims lost large sums through fake romantic relationships, lottery schemes and fraudulent business emails.
Operation Jackal IV also exposed a more disturbing trend. INTERPOL said some West African crime networks increasingly target minors through sextortion. Offenders contact children through social media, gain trust, pressure victims into sharing explicit images or videos, then demand payment under threats of distribution. Investigators encountered victims as young as 14.
The growth of Crime-as-a-Service adds another problem. Criminal groups no longer need every technical skill inside one organisation. INTERPOL found networks purchasing external services through dark-web channels, including laundering support and other specialised criminal functions. Such outsourcing allows fraud groups to expand faster, cross jurisdictions and replace disrupted parts of an operation after police arrests.
INTERPOL has warned for several years about the international reach of West African financial crime. The first Operation Jackal in 2022 involved 14 countries across four continents. Police made 75 arrests and intercepted EUR1.2 million in bank accounts. Authorities also seized 12,000 SIM cards, property, vehicles and cash.
The 2023 operation grew to 21 countries. Police arrested 103 people, identified 1,110 suspects, blocked 208 bank accounts and seized or froze more than EUR2 million. By 2024, Operation Jackal III produced about 300 arrests, identified more than 400 additional suspects and blocked over 720 bank accounts across 21 countries. Police also seized assets worth about US$3 million.
Those numbers show an organised crime problem extending far beyond West Africa. Participants in Jackal IV included Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, alongside South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States.
For African governments, the investigation raises a difficult reputational and security challenge. Fraud syndicates recruit, move money and establish operational bases across borders. Weak identity systems, corrupt financial channels, money mules and limited cybercrime resources give networks room to operate. Foreign victims then associate entire countries with criminal activity, even though millions of West Africans work and conduct business lawfully.
Nigeria has joined repeated INTERPOL operations against these groups. South African authorities have also arrested and extradited suspects wanted by U.S. prosecutors. Such cooperation matters because financial fraud rarely stays inside one jurisdiction. A victim might live in Canada, communicate with a false identity controlled from Johannesburg, send money through a European account and see proceeds transferred through cryptocurrency before funds reach another country.
The 58 arrests therefore represent one stage, rather than the end of the investigation. INTERPOL said many Jackal IV cases remain under investigation. The 263 identified suspects give national authorities new targets for financial tracing, arrest warrants and prosecution.
For the public, the operation carries a practical warning. Romance approaches involving urgent money requests, unsolicited cryptocurrency opportunities, unexpected investment offers and sudden changes to business payment instructions deserve independent verification. Criminal groups increasingly run professional operations with specialised staff, fake identities and international payment networks.
Operation Jackal IV shows police agencies are building equally international responses. The next measure of success will come from prosecutions, recovered victim funds and dismantled laundering networks, rather than arrest figures alone.
