INTERPOL Cracks Down on Black Axe Network in 22 Country Operation

• INTERPOL has identified 263 suspects and arrested 58 people in an eight month international operation targeting West African organised crime networks, including Black Axe. The operation followed the money across six continents, exposing how cyber fraud, money laundering and organised crime now operate through the same global financial infrastructure.

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An international operation coordinated by INTERPOL has delivered another major blow against Black Axe and other West African organised crime networks, with 58 arrests and 263 suspects identified across 22 countries.

Known as Operation Jackal IV, the operation ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and involved law enforcement agencies from six continents, including Nigeria, the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, South Africa, the UAE and Australia.

The operation focused heavily on following illicit financial flows, identifying high value targets, recovering criminal proceeds and supporting prosecutions.

INTERPOL said the networks were linked to romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment fraud, business email compromise and other serious crimes.

In South Africa alone, authorities arrested 39 people after raids on seven locations linked to romance and investment scams. Investigators also seized about US$2.67 million and froze 257 bank accounts.

One investigation in Romania uncovered an investment scam that allegedly stole and laundered approximately €143 million through electronic wallets. Eleven people were arrested, while authorities seized cash, cryptocurrency, six properties and luxury watches.

 Analysis

The significance of Jackal IV is not simply the number of arrests. It is the financial trail.

INTERPOL says one account alone moved €845,000 through 560 transactions using 20 different financial instruments. That is the sort of fragmented movement that can make illicit money look like ordinary commercial activity when individual transactions are viewed separately.

The investigation also found criminal groups using Crime as a Service, outsourcing activities such as money laundering to external providers, including networks operating through the dark web.

That changes the compliance problem.

The person committing the fraud may not be the person laundering the proceeds. The account receiving the money may belong to neither.

For banks, fintechs and payment companies, this makes transaction monitoring increasingly important. A suspicious pattern may only emerge when multiple accounts, payment instruments, jurisdictions and counterparties are examined together.

INTERPOL Director of Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption, Tomonobu Kaya, said following illicit financial flows across borders is central to attacking the financial infrastructure that allows organised crime to operate.

The latest operation also uncovered rising use of sextortion against minors, with victims reportedly as young as 14.

The message for financial institutions is blunt. Arrests disrupt people. Following the money can disrupt the organisation.