"Operation Jackal IV demonstrates the power of international cooperation," Tomonobu Kaya, director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said.
Scope and partners of Operation Jackal IV
Operation Jackal IV ran between November 2025 and June 2026 and brought together law enforcement from 22 countries across six continents, INTERPOL said. Participating countries included Austria, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.A.E., the U.K., and the U.S.
INTERPOL described the operation as a response to an "escalating global threat posed by West African criminal networks – such as the Black Axe and other similar groups," noting these networks are active in cyber-enabled financial fraud including romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams, and business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes.
Arrests, identifications, and high-level outcomes
Across eight months, authorities arrested 58 people and identified 263 suspects in connection with West African organized crime, INTERPOL reported. The stated aims of the operation were to dismantle money laundering, identify high-value targets, and seize illegal assets associated with West African financial crime.
Operation Jackal IV is the fourth wave in a multi-year effort. Previous waves produced hundreds of arrests and significant financial interdictions: Jackal I (26–30 September 2022) yielded 75 arrests, 49 property searches and €1.2 million intercepted in bank accounts; Jackal II (15–19 May 2023) produced 103 arrests, 1,110 suspects identified, 208 bank accounts blocked and €2.15 million seized or frozen; Jackal III (10 April–3 July 2024) recorded 300 arrests, 400 suspects identified and more than 720 bank accounts blocked.
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Get a security leadMajor cases within Jackal IV: Johannesburg raids and a Romanian call centre
Investigators raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate alleged to have run romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. INTERPOL said the syndicate operated like a legitimate organization, assigning roles such as "conversion" and "retention" agents to handle different parts of the fraud.
Separately, authorities dismantled a sophisticated investment scam operating from a call centre in Romania. That scheme promised high returns in stocks and cryptocurrency, diverted victim funds to wallets controlled by the fraudsters, and is tied to an estimated €143 million stolen and laundered globally. Police arrested 11 individuals in relation to that operation and seized approximately €330,000 (about $379,000) in cash and cryptocurrency, six real estate properties, and several luxury watches.
Crime-as-a-service network and a pan‑European laundering thread
Investigators identified 196 individuals linked to a major crime-as-a-service (CaaS) network believed to have provided website domains and money-laundering support to West African organized crime groups; 17 arrests have been made in connection with that case, INTERPOL said. The CaaS model described in the bulletin underlines how technical enablers can be central to the spread and scalability of fraud operations.
In another strand of the investigation, authorities identified one person tied to a pan‑European money‑laundering network that used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to obscure the origin of funds. INTERPOL reported that a single account in that scheme laundered €845,000 (about $736,000) across 560 transactions using 20 different financial instruments.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, financial institutions, and retirees
- Technologists and security teams: The identification of a CaaS network that supplied domains and laundering support highlights where defenders should focus — on infrastructure and services that enable fraud at scale.
- Policymakers and international law enforcement: The cross‑border composition of the operation — 22 countries on six continents — underscores the dependence of investigations on international cooperation to follow illicit financial flows and dismantle networks operating across jurisdictions.
- Financial institutions and compliance units: The pan‑European laundering case and the volume of small transactions in one account (560 transactions using 20 instruments) show the continued need for transaction monitoring tuned to patterns used to fragment and obscure proceeds.
- Retirees and consumers targeted by romance and investment scams: The Johannesburg raids and the Romanian call‑centre takedown are concrete reminders that organized syndicates are actively structuring operations to entice and retain victims, often masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities or personal relationships.
Operation Jackal IV adds another chapter to a sustained, multi‑year campaign against West African organized crime networks. By following the money and targeting the services that support fraud, the coalition of 22 countries identified hundreds of suspects, made dozens of arrests, and traced large flows of illicit funds — including an alleged €143 million laundering connected to a Romanian scheme. Whether those disruptions translate into long‑term loss of capacity for the networks named in INTERPOL's briefing will depend on continued cross‑border work to seize assets, prosecute enablers, and dismantle the underlying infrastructure.
