Operation Ghost Chain: FBI-Led Crackdown Nets 276 Arrests Across 14 Countries on April 30

According to the FBI, Europol, and Interpol, on April 30, 276 individuals were arrested across 14 countries in "Operation Ghost Chain," a coordinated law enforcement effort targeting organized cryptocurrency fraud syndicates. The operation dismantled infrastructure for "drainer-as-a-service" platforms and "pig butchering" romance scams, recovering over $2.1 billion stolen from victims since late 2024.

Law enforcement seized 42 servers hosting malicious smart contract code and apprehended the developers maintaining these systems. The operation also resulted in the seizure of approximately $480 million in digital assets, which the Department of Justice will allocate to a victim restitution fund. FBI Director Christopher Wray described the crackdown as a "decisive strike" against the digital underground.