Authorities traced a cryptocurrency wallet involved in laundering money from romance scams, revealing transactions exceeding $122 million over ten months. The discovery surfaced as part of a wider global enforcement effort coordinated by Interpol against online social engineering fraud.
During the investigation, Thai officials arrested two suspects tied to a network that funneled illicit funds from romance scams into cryptocurrencies. The group employed cross-chain token swapping to obscure the movement of funds and complicate law enforcement tracing efforts. This crackdown is embedded within Operation First Light 2026, an ongoing global campaign focusing on dismantling social engineering scams and the financial structures exploited for laundering illicit proceeds.
The operation spanned 97 countries and territories, resulting in the arrests of 5,811 individuals and seizing roughly $293 million in assets linked to fraud and money laundering. Interpol’s analysis encompassed over 150,000 scam cases, leading to the freezing of more than 31,000 bank accounts and resolving nearly 24,000 investigations. A total of 15,606 suspects were identified overall.
Interpol activated its Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system during the operation to freeze suspicious transactions involving both fiat currency and virtual assets. Authorities also conducted raids on scam hubs. In Palau, law enforcement deported 22 individuals reportedly involved in hotel-based scam centers that targeted victims using cryptocurrency and illegal online gambling platforms.
These enforcement actions come amidst rising concern over cryptocurrency’s role in facilitating romance scams, sometimes termed “pig-butchering” scams. These schemes typically involve perpetrators establishing trust with victims through social media or dating platforms before luring them into fraudulent investment schemes largely based on crypto assets.
In a broader context, U.S. authorities recorded over 180,000 crypto-related scam reports in 2025, with losses surpassing $11 billion. These figures highlight the global scale of crypto-enabled fraud and underline the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies worldwide.