Interpol Recovers $97M in Global Crypto Sting Targeting Internet Financial Crimes

Interpol just struck a massive blow against crypto criminals—proving blockchain's transparency can be a double-edged sword for bad actors.

The Global Crackdown

Law enforcement agencies across 30 countries coordinated takedowns of sophisticated money laundering networks. They exploited blockchain's permanent ledger to trace illicit funds that traditional finance would've lost in offshore accounts.

The $97M Recovery

Authorities seized digital assets mid-transfer—catching criminals who thought crypto offered anonymity. The operation revealed how international cooperation turns crypto's strengths into investigative advantages.

Regulatory Implications

This sting demonstrates that compliance tools are evolving faster than evasion techniques. Financial watchdogs now track crypto flows with precision that would make traditional bankers blush—if they understood the technology.

Maybe the real crime is how traditional finance still loses more to money laundering in a week than crypto does in a year.

Interpol has recovered $97M in crypto

Interpol has announced the recovery of $439M in criminal proceeds following a multinational operation targeting cyber financial crimes. Among the seized assets were $97M in cryptocurrencies and physical property.

Authorities blocked more than 68,000 bank accounts and froze nearly 400 cryptocurrency wallets as part of the operation. From the seized wallets alone, investigators recovered around $16M in illegal digital assets.

In Portugal, the police dismantled a syndicate accused of siphoning funds from social security accounts intended for vulnerable families. Forty-five suspects were arrested, and losses amounting to $270,000 were traced back to 531 victims.

In Thailand, the Royal Thai Police officers seized $6.6M in stolen assets linked to a transnational business email compromise scheme that tricked a Japanese corporation into transferring funds to a fraudulent Bangkok-based entity. The network was allegedly run by Thai and West African nationals.

Other notable successes involved the recovery of $3.91M in the United Arab Emirates. Investigators retrieved the funds after a Korean steel company identified forged shipping documents and flagged the fraudulent transfer. The stop was made possible through Interpol’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) system. This mechanism enables law enforcement agencies to freeze criminal proceeds in real time.

Global efforts against cybercrime

Aside from Europe and Asia, African nations have also intensified cybercrime enforcement. Earlier in 2025, authorities across 18 African countries and the United Kingdom conducted Operation Serengeti 2.0, which led to 1,209 arrests and the recovery of $97.4M. Criminal infrastructures, such as 25 illegal crypto mining centers in Angola and a $300M online investment scam in Zambia, were also dismantled.

A separate operation, Operation Red Card, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025, resulted in 306 arrests across seven African nations. Nigerian authorities arrested 130 suspects, including foreign nationals, who were allegedly involved in cyber-enabled investment and casino fraud. South Africa and Zambia also reported large-scale arrests connected to SIM box fraud and malware-driven scams, respectively.

“While many people believe that funds lost to fraud and scams are often irretrievable, the outcomes of HAECHI operations demonstrate that recovery is indeed possible,” Theos Badege, the Director pro tempore of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said.

Lee Jun Hyeong, the head of South Korea’s Interpol National Central Bureau, also noted that the country has played a leading role in international cooperation.

“Operation HAECHI has time and again demonstrated the power of unified global action in eradicating cyber-enabled financial crime,” he said.

Experts have also pointed out that cryptocurrencies have accelerated the globalization of financial crime.

Phil Larratt, the Director of Investigations at Chainalysis, stressed the effectiveness of cross-border partnerships. He cited Operation Destabilise, which is a joint effort by the UK, France, and the U.S. that dismantled a Russian money laundering network and resulted in $25.5M in cryptocurrency getting recovered.

“These outcomes are only possible when governments, regulators and private companies share intelligence and act together,” he added.

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