Interpol Seizes $97 Million Worth of Crypto in Huge Multinational Crackdown

Interpol seized a total of $439 million in criminal revenue in a adjusted lawsuit across 40 jurisdictions, with a seizure that includes $97 million in cryptocurrency and physical assets.

Operation Haechi VI ongoing from April to August focused on seven types of cybercrimes, including investment scams, money laundering, phishing, romance scams and e-commerce scams.

Law enforcement has blocked more than 68,000 bank accounts, frozen nearly 400 cryptocurrency wallets as part of its coordinated operations, and recovered $16 million from seized digital asset wallets.

Among the specific crimes targeted by Interpol is a massive Portuguese fraud. There, 45 suspects were arrested on suspicion of misappropriating Social Security payments from vulnerable families, stealing a total of $270,000 from 531 victims.

Other countries participating in Fly VI, which was financially supported by South Korea, include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, the UK and the US.

Interpol’s Theos Badege said in a press release that the latest operation Haechi is evidence that stolen funds can be recovered.

“As one of Interpol’s flagship financial crime businesses, Haechi is a prime example of how global cooperation can protect communities and protect the financial system,” he said. “We are encouraging more Member States to participate in this collective effort, and we can make a meaningful difference in the fight against cyber-responsive crime.”

Interpol’s latest business occurs when organizations step up policing for cybercrime. This usually involves cryptocurrency to varying degrees.

In August, for example, African and British authorities recovered $97.4 million and arrested more than 1,200 cybercriminals. The African agency is also involved in the business that arrested 306 suspects in March, with the suspect “profiting digital assets to hide their trucks.”

Experts agree that coordinated efforts to combat crypto-related cybercrimes are increasing, especially as such crimes become more international.

“The reality is that a single agency or jurisdiction cannot be taken by this challenge alone. Each global law enforcement agency has so many experts, tools and training. The nature of cryptography is essentially transnational.” Decryption.

Redbord describes Operation Haechi VI as part of a “broader trend towards deeper cooperation” between the state and the sector.

“At TRM, we see this every day through a beacon network that connects law enforcement with the private sector in real time, sharing leads and accelerates investigations,” he added.

According to Phil Larratt, Chief of Research at Chainalysis, the expansion of international cooperation between police agencies is partly a response to how Crypto can help criminals move their money faster.

“Recent cases show how joint action can actually bring about consequences,” he said. Decryption. “The unstable operation led by British national criminal institutions with French and US partners has dismantled Russia’s major money laundering network.”

Announced last December, Operation Deshabilize led to 84 arrests and approximately $25.5 million in cryptocurrency seizures.

“These results are only possible when governments, regulators and private companies share information and act together,” Larat added.

And, given how decentralized criminal networks have turned out, it appears that they need to cooperate with future frequency of increase.

“Crime networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated by moving funds across borders using new payment techniques to obscure shell companies’ chains, nested exchanges, and flows,” Redbord said. “That’s why we see such urgency in international cooperation and capacity building.”

Larratt points out that the illegal cryptography flow is worth around $40.9 billion last year. This shows how “attractive” digital assets have turned to criminals, and he says he will quickly adopt new technology.

“Investigators around the world need to have the right tools, training and data to maintain their pace,” he concluded. “Only then can we disrupt illegal networks, reduce and even prevent the harm they cause.”