An eight-month international operation targeting West African organized crime networks has resulted in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects across 22 countries, as law enforcement agencies intensify efforts to disrupt cyber-enabled fraud and money laundering.
Operation Jackal IV, coordinated by INTERPOL between November 2025 and June 2026, brought together police and financial-crime authorities across six continents. The operation focused on tracing illicit financial flows, identifying high-value suspects, seizing assets and supporting arrests and prosecutions.
The investigation highlights the increasingly global nature of West African criminal networks, including groups such as Black Axe. INTERPOL says these networks are involved in a significant share of cyber-enabled financial fraud, including romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams, as well as business email compromise schemes.
One of the most significant investigations took place in Argentina, where authorities identified 196 people allegedly connected to a major Crime-as-a-Service network.
The network is suspected of providing website domains and money-laundering services to West African organized crime groups. The investigation resulted in 17 arrests, with an INTERPOL operational support team assisting Argentine authorities in analysing seized data and identifying links between suspects and criminal networks.
The case illustrates how criminal organizations are increasingly outsourcing parts of their operations. INTERPOL said some West African syndicates were found to be obtaining Crime-as-a-Service from external providers, sometimes through the dark web, allowing them to outsource activities such as money laundering.
South Africa recorded the largest number of arrests during the operation, with 39 people detained following raids on seven locations in Johannesburg.
Authorities targeted a network involved in romance and investment scams aimed at retirees in English-speaking countries. Investigators seized around $2.67 million and blocked 257 bank accounts linked to the criminal network.
The investigation revealed a structured operation in which different members were assigned specific roles in the fraud process, including persuading victims to invest and maintaining relationships with them.
In Romania, authorities dismantled another network operating through a call centre that promoted supposedly high-return investments in stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Investigators estimate that approximately €143 million was stolen from victims and laundered internationally. Eleven people were arrested, while authorities seized cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and luxury watches.
In Italy, investigators also identified a person linked to a pan-European money-laundering network using shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to conceal the origins of illicit funds.
Beyond financial fraud, Operation Jackal IV also uncovered a worrying increase in sextortion targeting minors.
According to INTERPOL, some victims were as young as 14. Criminals typically contact minors through social media, establish a relationship of trust and persuade them to share intimate images or videos before threatening to distribute the material unless a ransom is paid.
The development demonstrates how organized crime groups are expanding beyond traditional financial scams and exploiting digital platforms to reach increasingly vulnerable victims.
Côte d’Ivoire was one of the 22 countries participating in Operation Jackal IV, alongside Nigeria, Argentina, South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Spain, Japan and other countries.
For INTERPOL, the operation demonstrates the importance of following the money across borders rather than targeting criminal networks only where their members are physically located.
The 58 arrests are therefore only one measure of the operation’s impact. Many investigations remain ongoing, and authorities are expected to continue analysing financial transactions, digital evidence and international links uncovered during the operation.
As cyber-enabled fraud becomes increasingly transnational, the operation underscores a growing reality for law enforcement: criminal networks can operate across continents, outsource specialized services and move illicit proceeds through complex financial channels. Disrupting them increasingly requires the same international reach.