The operation, known as First Light 2026, ran from January 15 to April 30, according to INTERPOL’s statement. Its focus was social engineering, the practice of exploiting a person’s trust to extract money or account details. That category covers business email compromise, sextortion, romance, impersonation, and investment scams, along with the laundering networks that move the proceeds. INTERPOL counted more than 142,000 victims over the four months. Alongside the arrests, police blocked 31,014 bank accounts, solved 23,715 cases, identified another 15,606 suspects, and issued 99 notices and diffusions, the agency reported.

INTERPOL sheds light on its months-long operation

According to INTERPOL, to intercept money before it vanished, authorities leaned on I-GRIP, INTERPOL’s stop-payment tool that can freeze both fiat and virtual asset transfers. Crypto was at the crime scene in Thailand, where the police arrested two suspects tied to a laundering operation that fed romance-scam money into several cryptocurrencies, then used cross-chain swaps to break the trail between blockchains. One suspect, aged 20, ran a wallet that moved more than $122.5 million in ten months, according to investigators.

Crypto was also involved in other legs of the operation, one of which was in Palau, where authorities deported 22 people accused of running scam centers out of hotels, using crypto and illegal gambling sites to reach victims abroad. INTERPOL’s financial crime chief sees the pattern as a fixed feature of the trade. “Criminal syndicates exploit human psychology to manipulate their targets, and no nation can stay safe unless all countries are equipped and committed to jointly fighting back,” said Tomonobu Kaya, director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, in the statement.

On the African continent, INTERPOL has also been active in dismantling criminal elements engaged in illicit activities that are linked to crypto. It partnered with Binance and AFRIPOL to recover $4.3 million and make over 651 arrests in an operation that spanned late 2025 to January 2026. The schemes were of varying kinds, ranging from a fake police station to a blocked wire, and not every scheme relied on tokens. Police in Eswatini arrested 82 people and seized 240 electronic devices after breaking up a network that ran illegal gambling, laundering, and impersonation scams.

The group had built a working replica of a Brazilian police station, with fake uniforms and signage, and posed as federal police on video calls to convince victims they were under investigation and should move money for “safekeeping,” according to INTERPOL. Due to the volume of digital evidence, the agency deployed a support team to help with forensics. There were cases where authorities were able to stop money mid-flight. Authorities in Singapore and Oman worked together using I-GRIP to block a $6.6 million transfer linked to a business email compromise scam aimed at a Singapore commodity trading firm.

Another one occurred in Macao, where an anti-fraud outreach campaign found a resident who was being manipulated by scammers posing as public officials. The police stepped in before the victim lost close to $372,000. INTERPOL’s June 2024 operation, which covered 61 countries, seized $257 million and arrested 3,950 suspects. First Light has run since 2014 and is funded by China’s Ministry of Public Security, with support from regional policing bodies ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol.

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The latest operation comes as Binance remains locked in a public disagreement with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), demanding in a letter the retraction of an article containing “inaccurate and defamatory” claims. Binance is currently receiving praise from international law enforcement for its role in a multi-million dollar takedown of cybercrime syndicates in Africa.

Binance collaborates with law enforcement in a crackdown on crime

According to the report, between December 8, 2025, and January 30, 2026, law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa, joined forces with Interpol and Afripol for Operation Red Card 2.0, a massive initiative targeting the infrastructure behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud, and predatory loan applications.

The eight-week operation resulted in 651 suspects being arrested across the continent. 1,247 victims were identified, with total losses exceeding $45 million. 1,442 malicious IP addresses, domains, and servers were dismantled, and 2,341 devices were seized to provide evidence for future trials. Binance provided technical assistance and intelligence that helped investigators track the flow of stolen digital assets.

In Nigeria, it used industry-leading blockchain analytics to help Interpol identify the digital trails left behind by scammers. In many cases, criminals used mobile money platforms as a gateway to digital assets. Binance’s investigators were able to trace these transfers to centralized hubs, such as a residential property in the country that served as a command center for a phishing ring. This collaboration allowed the recovery of $4.3 million in direct cash and assets.

Wall Street Journal article causes commotion

In Kenya, police arrested 27 suspects linked to fake dashboards that tricked users into thinking they were investing in global companies while their funds were being siphoned. Meanwhile, Binance remains locked with WSJ over an article titled “Binance Fired Staff Who Flagged $1 Billion Moving to Sanctioned Iran Entities,” which claimed that Binance executives fired individuals who discovered transfers of up to $1.7 billion to Iranian entities with links to terrorism.

Binance CEO Richard Teng quickly fired back on social media, calling the report inaccurate and defamatory. The company’s legal team also reportedly sent a formal letter to WSJ, stating that the reporters ignored the 19 detailed points of correction they were given before publication. Binance has also denied firing anyone for reporting suspicious activity and clarified that internal reviews revealed violations of data protection and confidentiality guidelines by the individuals in question.

Binance pointed out that it reduced its direct exposure to major Iranian exchanges by 97.3% between January 2024 and January 2026, bringing the volume down from $4.19 million to just $110,000. As of early 2026, Binance claims its compliance team has grown to 1,500 people, representing roughly 25% of its total global headcount. According to their February 2026 reports, the exchange processed over 71,000 law enforcement requests in the previous year and assisted in seizing $131 million in illicit funds globally.

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In a recent notice, the organisation stated that it joined forces with Angolan officials, closing down 25 illegal crypto mining operations overseen by 60 Chinese citizens. Following the Angola crypto crime, equipment worth over $37 million was seized. The relevant authorities in the country highlighted that this equipment will be distributed as financial support to vulnerable areas.

Interpol joins forces with Angolan law enforcement to dismantle illegal mining operations

The measures taken in Angola are steps in a bigger cybercrime operation conducted across several African countries. Apart from Angola, Zambia has also been exposed to a fraud scheme. This was revealed after officials in the country identified a scenario whereby 65,000 individuals experienced significant financial losses amounting to $300 million following fake promises of higher returns upon making crypto investments.

According to records, the population of Angola is estimated to be roughly 39 million. Power supply and distribution are the country’s primary problems. Over the years, the government has pointed accusing fingers at crypto miners, which has resulted in several crackdowns on their operations. This also led to a ban on mining in April 2024 amid concerns about energy use. However, digital assets are not entirely prohibited in Angola.

After the ban on mining was passed, a translated notice was released from the Chinese embassy in Angola stating that cryptocurrency mining under this law was considered illegal. It also warned that individuals possessing any equipment or infrastructure used for virtual currency ‘mining’ could be imprisoned for about one to five years, and the equipment might be taken away. This law illustrates a growing trend among countries globally, aiming to limit or completely ban crypto mining to address how power is shared among citizens.

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