Interpol Operation Nets 5,811 Arrests and $293 Million in Global Bank Scam Bust

According to INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization spearheaded Operation First Light 2026 from January 15th to April 30th, 2026, resulting in 5,811 arrests and $293 million in frozen illicit assets across 97 countries and territories. The operation targeted social engineering scams and associated money laundering, analyzing 152,808 cases with 23,715 solved.

Over 142,000 victims were identified during the operation. Authorities blocked 31,014 bank accounts tied to suspected fraud and issued 99 INTERPOL Notices. INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism facilitated the swift freezing of suspicious transfers of both fiat and crypto assets.