In the past few hours INTERPOL has released the budget of Jackal IVthe operation against West African organized crime groups conducted between November 2025 and June 2026. Eight months of coordinated work between 22 countries of six continents have produced 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects. The operation aimed to target money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecutions.
Black Axe and similar organizations are responsible for a significant share of cyber financial fraud worldwide. The recurring patterns are the sentimental scamscryptocurrency and investment scams and the business email compromisebut the same groups also appear in violent crimes and not just in remote fraud. The collected sums then pass through money laundering chains spread across multiple jurisdictions, the main target of Jackal IV.
How groups work, country by country
In South Africa the officers searched seven real estate a Johannesburg connected to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams aimed at pensioners of English-speaking countries. The internal structure was complex, with members designated as “conversion” or “maintenance” agents and assigned to different phases of the scam. The South African budget is the heaviest of the entire operation: 39 arrests, 257 bank accounts blocked And $2.67 million seized, with an INTERPOL operational support team deployed alongside local authorities.
? An eight-month operation targeting West African organized crime groups has led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects.
Groups such as the Black Ax pose an escalating global threat, responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial…pic.twitter.com/jf01EX2ceR— INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) August 25, 2026
In Romania investigators have dismantled a group that ran an investment scam through a call centerwith the promise of high returns on stocks or cryptocurrencies. The victims’ money ended up in electronic wallets controlled by the organizers, for an estimated total of 143 million euros stolen and recycled globally. There have been arrests 11accompanied by the seizure of approximately 330,000 euros between cash and cryptocurrencies, six properties and some luxury watches.
In Italy Only one person was identified as part of a pan-European money laundering network that used shell companies, money remittance services and cash withdrawals to obscure the origin of the funds. A single account passed through 845,000 euros in 560 operations supported by twenty different financial instruments. “By following illicit financial flows across borders we attack the lifeblood of organized crime, and make it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities,” he said Tomonobu Kayawho heads the INTERPOL center for financial crimes and anti-corruption.
Contract criminal services and blackmail to minors
In Argentina the investigation identified 196 people linked to a network of Crime-as-a-Servicesuspected of providing West African groups with site domains and money laundering support. There have been arrests 17and an INTERPOL operational support team worked on the seized data, tasked with reconstructing networks and suspects and following investigative leads with international partners. Several syndicates purchase these types of services from outside, often on the dark web, outsourcing money laundering and other key activities instead of managing them themselves.
The analysis of the data collected during the operation also revealed a growth in sextortion practiced by West African groups against minors, with victims of just 14 years old. The contact takes place on social networks, then the authors build a relationship of trust and push the minor to send explicit images or videos. At that point comes the threat to spread the material to the victim’s contacts if a ransom is not paid.
Jackal IV arrives at the tail end of two other international operations coordinated by INTERPOL. Between December and January the African authorities made arrests 651 suspects as part of Red Card 2.0, extended to 16 countries. In July the First Light 2026 operation closed with 5,811 arrests And 293 million dollars of illicit assets seized, with investigators from 97 countries involved.
However, one point remains to be clarified regarding the numbers of Jackal IV. The arrests detailed country by country, 39 in South Africa, 17 in Argentina and 11 in Romania, add up 67while the total of the operation is indicated in 58. The statement does not explain the difference, and with many files still open the results are likely still preliminary.
