Law enforcement agencies have arrested 5,811 suspects and seized approximately $293 million in illicit assets during a global operation targeting online fraud and money laundering networks. The coordinated effort, known as Operation First Light 2026, involved authorities from 97 countries and territories and was led by INTERPOL.
The operation focused on social engineering scams carried out between January 15 and April 30. Investigators targeted a wide range of fraud schemes, including business email compromise, investment scams, romance scams, impersonation fraud, sextortion, and other forms of online deception designed to trick victims into sending money or disclosing sensitive information.
According to INTERPOL, investigators identified more than 142,000 victims worldwide during the operation. Authorities also analyzed over 152,000 investigations, blocked or froze 31,014 bank accounts and virtual asset wallets, and identified an additional 15,606 suspects beyond those already arrested.
Police carried out raids on high-value targets, searched suspected criminal locations, froze financial assets, and issued INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions to support international investigations. Authorities also used INTERPOL’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism, which is designed to quickly block transfers involving stolen funds and virtual assets before they can be moved through international financial networks.
Operation First Light 2026 received funding from China’s Ministry of Public Security and was supported by regional law enforcement organizations, including Europol, ASEANAPOL, and GCCPOL. INTERPOL said the broad international cooperation was essential because many fraud networks operate across multiple countries, making coordinated investigations necessary to identify suspects and recover stolen assets.
Tomonobu Kaya, director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said criminal organizations increasingly exploit human psychology through sophisticated social engineering techniques and emphasized that combating these networks requires sustained international cooperation.
The latest crackdown follows several other large INTERPOL-led operations targeting cybercrime. Recent initiatives include Operation Synergia III, which disrupted cybercrime infrastructure by seizing servers and sinkholing malicious IP addresses, and Operation Red Card 2.0, which resulted in hundreds of arrests across Africa during a coordinated effort against cyber-enabled financial crime.