Interpol have recently announced that they have acted against multiple cybercrime organisations within West Africa, Operation Jackal III ran from April 10 to July 3 across 21 countries on five continents, resulting in 300 arrests and $3m worth of assets seized. 720 Fraudulent Bank accounts were blocked, and 400 suspects were identified.
Black Axe has a history of engaging in several different including with their main activities revolving around business email compromise and romance fraud. It is believed that Black Axe has been active in the fraud scene for over a decade now so this crackdown will hopefully be a large hit to their operation.Â
Op Jackal III also looked at targeting Nigerian based organised crime groups based in Argentina which have been linked to money laundering in over 40 countries with 160 victims. Nigerian crime groups in Portugal have also had action taken against them with 25 suspects identified for money laundering offences. Portuguese police were also able to seize crypto assets from these criminals.
The Director of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre commented that the volume of fraudulent activity originating from West Africa is not only concerning but also on the rise with the first OP Jackal in 2022 only resulting in 75 arrests and $1.1m of assets recovered.   Â
Find out how you can protect your business from account compromises by following the NCSC guidelines: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/business-email-compromise-defending-your-organisation
Comments