USD 300 million seized and 3500 suspects arrested in international financial crime operation
pLYON FRANCE A transcontinental police operation against online financial crime has concluded with almost 3500 arrests and seizures of USD 300 million approx EUR 273 million worth of assets across 34 countriesppThe sixmonth Operation HAECHI IV JulyDecember 2023 targeted seven types of cyberenabled scams voice phishing romance scams online sextortion investment fraud money laundering associated with illegal online gambling business email compromise fraud and ecommerce fraudppInvestigators worked together to detect online fraud and freeze associated bank and virtual asset service provider VASP accounts using INTERPOLs Global Rapid Intervention of Payments IGRIP a stoppayment mechanism which helps countries work together to block criminal proceedsppCooperation between Filipino and Korean authorities led to the arrest in Manila of a highprofile online gambling criminal after a twoyear manhunt by Koreas National Police AgencyppAuthorities blocked 82112 suspicious bank accounts seizing a combined USD 199 million in hard currency and USD 101 million in virtual assetsppHAECHI IVs 200 per cent surge in arrests shows the persistent challenge of cyberenabled crime reminding us to stay alert and keep refining our tactics against online fraud which is why INTERPOL operations like this are so important Thank you to all concerned especially colleagues from the Philippines and KoreappInvestment fraud business email compromise and ecommerce fraud accounted for 75 per cent of cases investigated in HAECHI IVppWorking with a number of VASPs INTERPOL helped frontline officers identify 367 virtual asset accounts linked to transnational organized crime Police in member countries froze the assets and investigations are ongoingppINTERPOLs Head of National Central Bureau in Korea Kim Dong Kwon saidppIt is remarkable that global efforts to stay ahead of the latest criminal trends have resulted in a substantial growth in operational outcomesppDespite criminals endeavors to gain illicit advantages through contemporary trends they will eventually be apprehended and face due punishment To accomplish this Project HAECHI will consistently evolve and expand its scopeppTwo Purple Notices were published during Operation HAECHI IV warning countries about emerging digital investment fraud practicesppOne alerted INTERPOL member countries to a new scam detected in Korea involving the sale of NonFungible Tokens with promises of huge returns which turned out to be a rug pull a growing scam in the crypto industry where developers abruptly abandon a project and investors lose their moneyppThe second purple notice warned about the use of AI and deep fake technology to lend credibility to scams by enabling criminals to hide their identities and to pretend to be family member friends or love interests ppThe UK leg of the operation reported several cases where AIgenerated synthetic content was used to deceive defraud harass and extort victims particularly through impersonation scams online sexual blackmail and investment fraud Cases also involved the impersonation of people known to the victims through voice cloning technologyppHAECHI operations are supported financially by KoreappHAECHI IV participating countries Argentina Australia Brunei Cambodia Cayman Islands Ghana Hong Kong China India Indonesia Ireland Japan Kyrgyzstan Laos Liechtenstein Malaysia Maldives Mauritius Nigeria Pakistan Philippines Poland Korea Romania Seychelles Singapore Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Thailand United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Viet Namp
