INTERPOL operation blocks illicit crypto transfers and leads to 5,811 arrests

INTERPOL-led operation has resulted in 5,811 arrests, blocked more than 31,000 bank accounts, and intercepted $293 million in illicit assets across 97 countries and territories during a global crackdown on fraud and crypto-linked money laundering.

According to an INTERPOL statement published on Thursday, Operation First Light ran between Jan. 15 and April 30, 2026, targeting social engineering scams including business email compromise, romance scams, sextortion, impersonation, investment fraud and the money laundering networks that supported them.

Authorities identified more than 142,000 victims during the operation, solved 23,715 cases, identified 15,606 suspects, and issued 99 notices and diffusions. The operation also relied on INTERPOLs Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism, which enabled investigators to rapidly freeze suspicious fiat and cryptocurrency transfers.

Tomonobu Kaya, director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, warned that criminal syndicates continue to exploit human psychology to deceive victims and said coordinated international action remains necessary to combat cyber-enabled financial crime and the laundering networks behind it.

Crypto laundering network uncovered

Among the cases highlighted by INTERPOL, Thai police arrested two suspects after uncovering a cryptocurrency laundering operation that allegedly moved proceeds from romance scams through multiple digital assets using cross-chain token swaps to hide the origin of funds.

Authorities said one 20-year-old suspects crypto wallet processed more than $122.5 million over a 10-month period.

Elsewhere, law enforcement in Singapore and Oman blocked a $6.6 million transfer linked to a business email compromise scheme, while police in Macao stopped a victim from sending nearly $372,000 to scammers posing as public officials.

In Eswatini, police arrested 82 people after dismantling an online gambling, money laundering, and impersonation network that allegedly operated from a fake Brazilian police station, convincing victims to transfer money for “safekeeping” before stealing the funds. Authorities in Palau also deported 22 people accused of running hotel-based scam centres that used cryptocurrency and illegal gambling websites to target overseas victims.

The latest operation adds to a series of international actions targeting cryptocurrency laundering networks. In June, U.S. prosecutors charged two alleged operators of the AudiA6 crypto laundering service, accusing them of processing more than $389 million in transactions and receiving over 10,000 Bitcoin since 2021 while allegedly helping customers conceal the origin of criminal proceeds. Investigators from multiple countries also seized servers, froze crypto assets, and replaced the groups online infrastructure with seizure notices.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a network accused of helping North Korea move proceeds from overseas IT worker schemes through cryptocurrency. According to the Treasury, facilitators converted digital assets into cash or used crypto transactions to disguise the source of funds before sending them to accounts linked to the North Korean regime.