97 countries, 5,811 arrests: INTERPOL closes its largest anti-fraud operation of the year
Operation First Light 2026 intercepted USD 293 million in fiat and virtual assets and identified more than 142,000 victims of social engineering fraud worldwide.
INTERPOL announced on July 9 the results of Operation First Light 2026, a coordinated action against social engineering fraud that ran from January 15 to April 30 across 97 countries and territories. The operation produced 5,811 arrests and intercepted USD 293 million in illicit assets, in both fiat currency and virtual assets.
The scale of the victim count is the central figure. Participating countries identified more than 142,000 victims during the operation. Investigators analyzed 152,808 cases, solved 23,715 of them, blocked 31,014 bank accounts, and identified a further 15,606 suspects. INTERPOL issued 99 Notices and Diffusions in support of national investigations.
Stopping money in motion
The operation made repeated use of I-GRIP, INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention of Payments, a stop-payment mechanism that blocks illicit transfers of both fiat and virtual assets while they are still in motion. Speed of intervention remains the single most important variable in whether stolen funds can be stopped.
Two national results stand out for readers of this desk. In Thailand, police arrested two suspects tied to a laundering network for romance scam proceeds; a single wallet controlled by a 20 year old suspect processed more than USD 122.5 million in ten months, moved through cross-chain swaps to obscure the trail. In Sri Lanka, authorities carried out multiple raids on cyber scam centres and arrested hundreds of suspects over the three month operation.
Tomonobu Kaya, Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said criminal syndicates "exploit human psychology to manipulate their targets, and no nation can stay safe unless all countries are equipped and committed to jointly fighting back."
Why the reporting window matters
First Light demonstrates again that funds reported quickly, while still moving through accounts and wallets, can be blocked. Funds reported late usually cannot. That is a fact pattern, not a promise, and it is the single most useful thing a victim can know in the first hours after a theft.