Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Nigeria was among 97 countries that participated in a major INTERPOL-led anti‑fraud operation that resulted in the arrest of 5,811 suspects and the interception of $293 million in illicit assets linked to cyber‑enabled financial crimes and money laundering. The operation, codenamed Operation First Light 2026, ran from January 15 to April 30, targeting social engineering scams, including business email compromise, romance scams, investment fraud, impersonation schemes and sextortion.
According to INTERPOL in a Statement made yesterday, the coordinated operation identified more than 142,000 victims worldwide, analysed 152,808 fraud cases, blocked 31,014 bank accounts, solved 23,715 cases and identified 15,606 suspects. Authorities also issued 99 INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions to facilitate international cooperation
INTERPOL’s Director of the Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, warned that fraud syndicates continue to exploit human trust on a global scale. “Social engineering scams continue to pose a significant threat to our society. 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,” he said.
Among the operation’s major breakthroughs, authorities in Eswatini dismantled a criminal network running online gambling, money laundering and impersonation scams, arresting 82 suspects and seizing 240 electronic devices, foreign currencies and a fake Brazilian police station used to deceive victims into transferring funds. In Thailand, police uncovered a cryptocurrency laundering network linked to romance scams after discovering that a 20‑year‑old suspect had processed more than $122.5 million through a digital wallet in just 10 months. Singapore and Oman jointly blocked a fraudulent $6.6 million transfer using INTERPOL’s I‑GRIP payment intervention system, while police in Macao prevented a victim from losing nearly $372,000 after intercepting an impersonation scam.
As part of the Nigerian operation, INTERPOL, working with the Nigeria Police Force, arrested and extradited Samuel “PutSammy” Ugberaese, a Nigerian internet fraud suspect based in South Africa, to the United States over his alleged involvement in multi‑million‑dollar romance scams. Nigerian authorities also dismantled a high‑yield investment fraud ring that recruited young individuals to carry out cyber‑enabled crimes using phishing, identity theft, social engineering and fake digital asset investment schemes.
The Nigeria Police Force has been actively involved in INTERPOL’s anti‑fraud initiatives, with the operation highlighting the country’s commitment to tackling cybercrime and transnational fraud networks. The global police body noted that the success of Operation First Light 2026 underscored the importance of international collaboration in tackling increasingly sophisticated cybercrime networks. INTERPOL said the operation recorded significant enforcement actions in several countries, including Nigeria, China, Thailand, Singapore and Eswatini.
The operation was coordinated by INTERPOL, with funding from China’s Ministry of Public Security and support from ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol regional policing bodies. INTERPOL said the operation exposed the growing scale of online fraud worldwide, with social engineering scams escalating into a major transnational threat affecting individuals, businesses and governments. The organisation described social engineering as fraudulent schemes that exploit victims’ trust to obtain money or confidential information, including business email compromise, romance fraud, investment scams, impersonation, sextortion and other forms of online deception.
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