On July 16th, Interpol declared that Operation Jackal III, a massive worldwide crackdown on West African criminal syndicates’ online financial fraud, had been a success.
According to the press release, 300 people were arrested, and $3 million in illegal cash was confiscated during the operation that began on April 10 and ended on July 3. Law enforcement agencies from 21 nations spanning five continents participated in the operation. As a consequence of the operation, seven hundred and twenty bank accounts associated with the syndicates were frozen.
Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Centre head Isaac Oginni of Interpol brought attention to the rising alarm about the amount of money fraud emanating from West Africa.
According to Oginni, this investigation’s findings highlight the urgent necessity for cooperation between law enforcement agencies worldwide to disrupt these vast criminal networks. The apprehension of suspects, the recovery of illegal cash, and the incarceration of some of the most dangerous leaders of West African organized crime may diminish their influence and ability to damage communities worldwide.
According to Interpol, the Black Axe criminal organization was one of the main objectives of Operation Jackal III. The group was located in West Africa and was infamous for computer fraud, slavery, drug smuggling, and violent crimes both in Africa and abroad. The network is now the subject of investigations in more than 40 nations for alleged money laundering operations, which include the employment of “money mules” to create bank accounts in different countries.
The international group The Black Axe, often called the Neo-Black Movement of Africa, was established at Nigeria’s University of Benin as a component of the Pan-African movement.
Black Axe has grown into a global powerhouse in the last decade, among the most influential and menacing criminal organizations.
The criminal police in Portugal busted a Nigerian ring that recruited people to launder money for others who had fallen victim to online financial fraud all around Europe. The procedure led to the identification of over 25 members of the syndicate.
The press release shows that 72 people were apprehended, and around 100 bank accounts were frozen after a five-year probe into Black Axe in Argentina yielded a breakthrough that resulted in the confiscation of high-quality counterfeit banknotes worth $1.2 million.
