In one of the most extensive and coordinated crackdowns on cyber-enabled financial crime to date, law enforcement agencies across 40 countries have recovered a staggering US$439 million in illicit assets through INTERPOL’s Operation HAECHI VI. Conducted between April and August 2025, the operation marks a significant leap forward in the fight against online financial fraud, digital money laundering, and transnational organized crime.

The five-month global effort led to the recovery of US$342 million in government-backed currencies and an additional US$97 million in both physical and virtual assets. Authorities blocked over 68,000 bank accounts and froze nearly 400 cryptocurrency wallets suspected of facilitating criminal activities.

The operation’s success underscores a growing international recognition that cyber-enabled financial crimes – from romance scams and voice phishing to business email compromise (BEC) – represent not only a threat to individuals but also to the integrity of the global financial system.

Operation HAECHI VI focused on seven core areas of cyber-enabled financial crime:

1. Voice phishing (or “vishing”) – fraudulent calls made to deceive victims into sharing sensitive information.
2. Romance scams – exploiting emotional relationships for financial gain.
3. Online sextortion – blackmailing victims using intimate images or communications.
4. Investment fraud – deceptive schemes promising high returns.
5. Money laundering linked to illegal online gambling.
6. Business email compromise (BEC) – hacking or impersonating corporate emails to divert legitimate payments.
7. E-commerce fraud – fake online marketplaces and payment scams.

These categories collectively account for billions in global losses every year. The operation sought not only to disrupt ongoing schemes but to identify the criminal networks behind them and recover the proceeds wherever possible.

Among the notable successes, Portuguese authorities dismantled a sprawling syndicate that had fraudulently diverted funds intended for vulnerable families. The suspects had illegally accessed government social security accounts, altered victims’ banking details, and siphoned off EUR 228,000 (US$270,000) from 531 victims. A total of 45 individuals were arrested.

In Thailand, the Royal Thai Police achieved their largest-ever single-case asset recovery, seizing US$6.6 million linked to a sophisticated business email compromise scheme. The scam involved a transnational organized crime group of Thai and West African nationals who tricked a major Japanese corporation into wiring funds to a fake business partner in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, in a separate high-profile case, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) worked in tandem with Emirati authorities to intercept and return KRW 6.6 billion (US$3.91 million) stolen from a Korean steel company. The criminals had forged shipping documents and tricked the company into transferring funds to an illegitimate account in Dubai. The stolen money was successfully recovered in full through INTERPOL’s I-GRIP (Global Rapid Intervention of Payments) mechanism – a stop-payment system that enables real-time communication among law enforcement agencies to halt suspicious transfers before they are laundered or moved offshore.

Launched in 2022, INTERPOL’s I-GRIP platform has proven to be a game changer in financial crime recovery. By allowing law enforcement agencies to instantly share alerts about fraudulent transactions, I-GRIP helps intercept funds that would otherwise vanish into a labyrinth of shell companies, offshore accounts, and cryptocurrency wallets.

During Operation HAECHI VI, I-GRIP was instrumental in recovering over US$16 million from cryptocurrency wallets and preventing further laundering. Its rapid, cross-border coordination mechanism also ensured that funds could be tracked across multiple jurisdictions before being withdrawn or converted.

According to Theos Badege, Director pro tempore of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), the operation sends a powerful message to both victims and criminals:

“While many people believe that funds lost to fraud and scams are often irretrievable, the outcomes of HAECHI operations demonstrate that recovery is indeed possible. As one of INTERPOL’s flagship financial crime operations, HAECHI is a prime example of how global cooperation can protect communities and safeguard financial systems.”

Badege emphasized that collective international participation is key to making a “meaningful difference” in countering the rise of cyber-enabled financial crimes, urging more countries to join the next phase of the HAECHI initiative.

The Republic of Korea continues to play a leading role in HAECHI operations. The country’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Seoul has been instrumental in spearheading investigations, coordinating with global partners, and helping design the technical backbone of operations like I-GRIP.

Lee Jun Hyeong, head of Korea’s INTERPOL NCB, praised the outcomes of HAECHI VI and reiterated Seoul’s commitment to tackling the evolving cybercrime landscape:

“Operation HAECHI has time and again demonstrated the power of unified global action in eradicating cyber-enabled financial crime. The Republic of Korea has been at the forefront of international cooperation by disrupting illicit financial flows and apprehending key offenders. We will continue to strengthen partnerships with INTERPOL and global law enforcement to proactively and sustainably respond to the evolving crime landscape.”

Under Korea’s leadership, the HAECHI initiative has evolved into a multi-phase global campaign – from HAECHI I in 2020 to the current HAECHI VI – recovering hundreds of millions of dollars and facilitating thousands of arrests across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

The scale of Operation HAECHI VI also reflects the accelerating sophistication of modern financial criminals. As traditional banking security improves, fraudsters increasingly exploit vulnerabilities in digital payment systems, cryptocurrency exchanges, and online communications. Many operate in loosely connected networks, making it difficult for national authorities to trace money trails that cross multiple borders within seconds.

Cyber-enabled scams have also become more psychologically manipulative, using social engineering techniques and artificial intelligence to impersonate trusted individuals, fabricate convincing identities, and manipulate victims into transferring money.

Law enforcement experts warn that while operations like HAECHI VI are successful, the fight is far from over. Criminal syndicates continuously adapt, developing new tools to evade detection and exploit emerging technologies like deepfakes and AI-driven chatbots.

The success of HAECHI VI demonstrates that effective international cooperation – coupled with technological innovation and rapid communication – can reverse the tide of cyber-enabled financial crime. INTERPOL’s model of shared intelligence, multi-agency coordination, and real-time payment intervention offers a blueprint for the future.

With plans already underway for HAECHI VII, INTERPOL aims to expand participation beyond its current network of 40 countries, integrate more private-sector partners such as banks and cryptocurrency platforms, and develop predictive tools to preempt criminal trends before they take root.

For millions of victims around the world, Operation HAECHI VI delivers more than recovered money – it offers hope that even in the digital shadows where cybercriminals thrive, global justice is catching up.

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