Operation First Light 2026 targeted social engineering scams and related money laundering networks between January 15 and April 30. Authorities identified more than 142,000 victims, analysed 152,808 cases and blocked 31,014 bank accounts linked to suspected criminal proceeds.
The China-funded operation also led investigators to identify 15,606 suspects and solve 23,715 cases. Interpol issued 99 Notices and Diffusions to help member countries locate wanted individuals and exchange information on criminal activity crossing national borders.
The figures mark a sharp expansion from Operation First Light 2024, which involved 61 countries, produced 3,950 arrests and resulted in assets worth $257 million being seized or frozen. Interpol has coordinated First Light operations since 2014 to improve international cooperation against telecommunications fraud and social engineering schemes.
This year’s operation focused on business email compromise, romance and investment fraud, impersonation scams, sextortion and illegal online gambling. Investigators also targeted laundering networks that moved proceeds through conventional bank accounts, cryptocurrency wallets and cross-chain token swaps designed to obscure the movement of funds.
Authorities used Interpol’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism to trace and halt suspected fraudulent transfers before the money disappeared through layered accounts. The system allows police and financial institutions in different jurisdictions to act quickly when stolen funds are transferred abroad.
Singapore and Oman used the mechanism to block a $6.6 million transfer linked to a business email compromise scheme. Criminals had impersonated a supplier and persuaded a Singapore-based commodity trading company to send funds to an account controlled by the fraud network.
Thailand uncovered a separate laundering operation in which proceeds from romance scams were converted into various cryptocurrencies. A digital wallet linked to a 20-year-old suspect had processed more than $122.5 million over 10 months, demonstrating the scale at which fraud syndicates are using digital assets to move money.
Police in Eswatini arrested 82 people and dismantled a network accused of illegal online gambling, laundering and impersonation fraud. Officers seized foreign currency and 240 electronic devices, together with a replica of a Brazilian police station equipped with false uniforms, official-looking signs and other props.
The fraudsters allegedly posed as Brazil’s Federal Police during video calls. Victims were told that they were involved in criminal investigations and were persuaded to transfer money for supposed safekeeping. The funds were then stolen.
Interpol deployed a specialist operational support team to Eswatini to examine the seized phones, computers and other digital equipment. Such devices can contain messaging records, account credentials, cryptocurrency addresses and information identifying victims or associates in other countries.
Hundreds of suspects were arrested in Sri Lanka in raids targeting cyber scam centres. These facilities often employ large groups of operators who use scripted conversations, fabricated investment platforms and false online identities to contact victims across multiple jurisdictions.
Palau deported 22 people accused of involvement in two connected scam centres operating from hotels. The groups allegedly used cryptocurrency, illegal gambling sites and other digital platforms to target victims overseas.
Police in Macao, China, prevented a member of the public from transferring nearly $372,000 after discovering during an anti-fraud outreach campaign that the person was being manipulated by criminals posing as officials. The intervention came before the requested payment was completed.
Operation First Light was financed by China’s Ministry of Public Security and supported by ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL and Europol. Participating jurisdictions included the UAE, India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia’s regional partners, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and several European, African and Latin American countries.
The arrests come as organised fraud networks increasingly combine cybercrime, human trafficking and money laundering. Scam centres have expanded beyond Southeast Asia into Africa, the Middle East and other regions, with some workers trafficked or coerced into carrying out online fraud.
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