According to BBC sources on Wednesday, Interpol warned that the highly-coordinated cybercrime gang was behind several major crimes and some of the world’s financial fraud enabled by cyberspace, and that they were conducting a covert operation known as “Operation Jackal III” across 21 countries between April and July 2024.
The police described the operation as a “major blow” to the Nigerian criminal network, but they also issued a warning due to the Black Axe’s technological expertise and global reach, which make it a menace to the entire world.
According to the report, over 700 bank accounts were frozen and $3 million worth of illicit assets were seized as a result of Operation Jackal III.
Senior officer Tomonobu Kaya of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Center emphasized the role that bitcoin and financial technology play in supporting cybercrime syndicates, which are notorious for their multi-million dollar internet hoaxes.
“They are very structured and organized,” he remarked. These criminal organizations are often the first to use new technologies. Many financial innovations have made it simple to transfer money illegally across international borders.
A covert criminal organization operating globally, the Black Axe is involved in prostitution, human trafficking, and assassination operations. But the group’s main source of income is cybercrime.
Interpol’s 2022 report attributed the Black Axe and other criminal groups to the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud and other serious crimes. Since 2022, multiple “Jackal” police operations have taken place, arresting dozens of Black Axe and other gang members and seizing their electronic devices. Canadian authorities busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5 billion in 2017.
Interpol launched the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system, which enables authorities in its 196-member countries to freeze bank accounts worldwide with unprecedented speed. This mechanism was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business in July 2024. West Africa Regional Coordinator Dr. Oluwole Ojewale blamed the government for its laxity in curtailing criminal groups such as the Black Axe, stating that politicians use members of these syndicates for their gains, providing them with the necessary tools to defraud innocent people and commit other atrocities.
President Bola Tinubu pledged increased support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to increase its capacity to tackle digital offences. In November 2023, the Nigerian Senate expressed concerns over an annual loss of $500m to various forms of cybercrime across the country. If the national cybersecurity program is not effectively funded, the gains of the digital economy would be defeated.
Interpol’s Jackal Operations originated from Ireland, where the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau identified 1,000 people with links to Black Axe in 2020 and arrested several members, paving the way for the exposure of a far wider network. A detective superintendent at the GNECB, Michael Cryan, estimated that €200m ($220m; £170m) had been stolen online in Ireland in the past five years, accounting for only 20% of cyber-crimes believed to be reported.
