$293 million seized and 5,811 arrests made in massive anti-fraud and fraud operations by Interpol and law enforcement agencies in 97 countries

Interpol’s Operation First Light 2026 spanned 97 countries, leading to 5,811 arrests, $239 million seized and 31,014 bank accounts frozen
Authorities analyzed 152,808 cases, identified 15,606 suspects and uncovered fraud ranging from BEC to money laundering, with over 142,000 victims globally
Notable busts included a fake Brazilian police station in Eswatini, crypto-laundering in Thailand and fraud centers in Palau, highlighting the scale and diversity of the crackdown

Interpol and various national law enforcement agencies arrested more than 5,800 people and seized hundreds of millions of dollars in one of the largest cybercrime crackdowns to date.

In a statement, Interpol said it started Operation First Light 2026 on January 15 and ended it on April 30, 2026. After an “initial period” of gathering intelligence and sharing it between partners, police forces in 97 countries and territories began raiding premises, seizing digital equipment and suspect cash and making arrests.

A total of 5,811 people were arrested and $239 million in illegal assets seized. During Operation First Light 2026, various police forces analyzed 152,808 cases, had 31,014 bank accounts frozen and issued 99 notices and dispersals.

A replica of a police station

In addition to the arrests, the law enforcement firms also identified 15,606 suspects, which could lead to even more arrests in the coming months.

Interpol did not dismantle a single global operation here. The cases ranged from money laundering, to fraud and identity theft, to corporate email compromise and more.

In one particularly brazen campaign, police in Eswatini seized a “realistic replica of a Brazilian police station, complete with fake uniforms, signs and equipment”.

“The fraudsters posed as Brazil’s federal police via video call and tricked their targets into believing they were victims of a crime, tricking them into transferring money to ‘storage’, which was then stolen,” Interpol explained. In this case, the police arrested 82 people and seized 240 electronic devices.

Two people were arrested in Thailand, including a 20-year-old man who allegedly processed more than $122.5 million in various cryptocurrencies in 10 months. Authorities in Palau, on the other hand, expelled 22 people for their role in two linked fraud centers run from hotels.

Interpol said that during the operation it identified more than 142,000 victims globally.