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A worldwide law enforcement campaign led by INTERPOL has dealt a major blow to international fraud rings, leading to thousands of arrests and the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars linked to cyber-enabled financial crime.
The initiative, known as Operation First Light, ran from January 15 through April 30, 2026, and brought together authorities from 97 countries and territories. During the operation, police arrested 5,811 suspects while intercepting approximately $293 million in criminal assets.
The campaign targeted a broad range of social engineering scams, including business email compromise, investment fraud, romance scams, impersonation schemes, sextortion, and the money laundering networks that help criminals move stolen funds. INTERPOL also deployed its Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) system, allowing investigators to quickly halt suspicious transfers involving both traditional currencies and digital assets.
The operation produced significant results beyond the arrests. Investigators identified more than 142,000 victims worldwide, solved 23,715 cases, and identified 15,606 suspects. Authorities also froze 31,014 bank accounts connected to fraudulent activity while issuing 99 international notices and diffusions to assist ongoing investigations.
According to Tomonobu Kaya, Director of INTERPOL's Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, international cooperation remains essential as scammers continue exploiting human behavior through increasingly sophisticated tactics.
He noted that organized criminal groups rely heavily on psychological manipulation to deceive victims and emphasized that combating these threats requires coordinated efforts across borders. INTERPOL, he added, remains focused on helping member nations strengthen their response to cyber-enabled financial crime and the money laundering operations that support it.
Several countries reported notable successes during the operation.
In Thailand, investigators dismantled a cryptocurrency laundering network connected to romance scams. Authorities arrested two suspects who allegedly converted stolen funds through multiple cryptocurrencies using cross-chain token swaps designed to hide transaction trails. Officials said one suspect, just 20 years old, controlled a digital wallet that handled more than $122.5 million in transactions over a ten-month period.
Meanwhile, police in Eswatini arrested 82 individuals linked to an elaborate fraud network involved in illegal online gambling, identity fraud, and money laundering. Investigators said the group convinced victims they were communicating with officers from a fictitious Brazilian police station before persuading them to transfer money into supposedly secure accounts, which the scammers ultimately stole.
Cross-border cooperation also helped authorities prevent major financial losses elsewhere. Officials in Singapore and Oman successfully stopped a $6.6 million transfer connected to a business email compromise scheme before the funds could disappear.
In Macao, police intervened in time to prevent a victim from sending nearly $372,000 to criminals impersonating government officials, while authorities in Palau deported 22 foreign nationals accused of operating scam centers from local hotels. Investigators said the group used cryptocurrency transactions alongside illegal gambling platforms to target victims overseas.
The results of Operation First Light highlight the increasingly international nature of financial crime and the growing role digital assets can play in laundering illicit proceeds. At the same time, the operation demonstrates how coordinated action between law enforcement agencies can disrupt sophisticated criminal networks before even greater losses occur.