An eight-month global operation targeting West African organised crime groups has resulted in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects across 22 countries on six continents.
Operation Jackal IV, which ran from November 2025 to June 2026, was coordinated by Interpol and aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecutions. The operation targeted groups such as the Black Axe, which are responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, including romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams, business email compromise fraud and other serious and violent crimes.
Tomonobu Kaya, Director of the Interpol Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said the operation showed the value of working across borders. 
“Operation Jackal IV demonstrates the power of international cooperation. By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organised crime and making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities,” Kaya said.
Among the key outcomes of the operation:
In Argentina, 196 individuals were identified for their role in a major Crime-as-a-Service network suspected of providing website domains and money laundering support to West African organised crime groups, leading to 17 arrests. An Interpol Operational Support Team was deployed to assist, providing analytical support on seized data and identifying criminal networks and suspects.
In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate running romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. The criminal network operated an elaborate structure, with members designated as conversion or retention agents tasked with different stages of the scam. Interpol deployed an operational support team locally, and South African law enforcement seized USD 2.67 million, blocked 257 bank accounts and arrested 39 individuals.
In Italy, one individual was identified in relation to a pan-European money laundering network that used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to hide the origins of funds. A single account laundered EUR 845,000 across 560 transactions using 20 different financial instruments.
In Romania, authorities dismantled a criminal group running a sophisticated investment scam through a call centre that promised high returns in stocks or cryptocurrencies. Victims’ money was diverted to electronic wallets controlled by the perpetrators, resulting in an estimated EUR 143 million stolen and laundered globally. Police arrested 11 individuals and seized approximately EUR 330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six real estate properties and several luxury watches.
Beyond individual cases, the operation also identified a rise in West African organised crime groups using sextortion to target minors, with victims as young as 14. Offenders typically contact minors via social media, build trust and coerce them into sharing explicit images or videos before threatening to distribute the material to the victim’s contacts unless a ransom is paid.
Some criminal syndicates were also found to be procuring Crime-as-a-Service from external providers through the dark web to outsource key activities including money laundering.
Participating countries in Operation Jackal IV were Austria, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
