Interpol fights Black Axe in a war against Cyber-crime.
Police units around the world have joined forces in a series of covert operations targeting one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks – Black Axe.
The mission, co-ordinated by global policing agency Interpol, led to the arrest of 300 people with links to Black Axe and other affiliated groups.
In a series of covert missions, tagged, “Operation Jackal III” in 21 countries between April and July 2024, Interpol said the highly-coordinated cybercrime group was responsible for some of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud and many other serious crimes, BBC reports.
The Interpol called the operation a “major blow” to the Nigerian crime network, but warned that its international reach and technological sophistication mean it remains a global threat.
BBC also made reference to Canadian authorities saying they had busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5bn (£3.8bn) in 2017.
“They are very organised and very structured,” Tomonobu Kaya, a senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre said.
According to a 2022 report by Interpol, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes”.
Mr Kaya said innovations in money-transfer software and cryptocurrency have played into the hands of groups, which are renowned for multi-million dollar online scams.
“These criminal syndicates are early adopters of new technologies… A lot of fintech developments make it really easy to illegally move money around the world,” he said.
The report noted that Operation Jackal III had led to the seizure of $3 million of illegal assets and more than 700 bank accounts being frozen.
The Black Axe is a secretive criminal network involved in trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world. However, cybercrime which targets individuals and businesses, is the organisation’s largest source of revenue.
Its many Black Axe members are university-educated and are recruited into the group during their schooling.
Meanwhile, the West Africa Regional Co-ordinator from the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Oluwole Ojewale pointed out that “The emphasis must actually be on prevention not on outright operations against these criminal groups,”
He also said politicians use members of these syndicates for their gains, providing them with the necessary tools to defraud innocent people and commit other atrocities.
“The general failure of governance in the country has put pressure on people to be initiated (into the Black Axe). It is the politicians who are arming these boys,” he asserted.
Ojewale added that “the emphasis must be on prevention not on outright operations against these criminal groups.”
In response, Interpol said it was carrying out training exercises with key Nigerian stakeholders and police officials. But corruption, and allegations of collusion between Black Axe and local authorities, remain major obstacles.
The report also recalled that despite its current global reach, Interpol’s Jackal Operations originated from Ireland.
It confirmed that following a series of police raids by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) in 2020, a handful of Black Axe members were arrested, paving the way for the exposure of a far wider network.
“They were very under the radar, very low-key,” said Michael Cryan, detective superintendent at the GNECB, which led the operation.
“The amount of money being laundered through Ireland was astronomical,” he added.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau also reported to have subsequently identified 1,000 people with links to Black Axe in Ireland and has made hundreds of arrests for fraud and cyber-crime.
“Bank robberies are now done with laptops – they’re far more sophisticated,” said Det Supt Cryan. “This is not typical or ordinary crime… People who make decisions need to know how serious this is,” he said.
He estimates €200m ($220m; £170m) have been stolen online in Ireland in the past five years, and that only accounts for the 20% of cyber-crimes that are believed to be reported.
Irish police operations in November 2023 revealed that cryptocurrency – which can be sent rapidly between digital wallets around the world – is becoming an integral element in Black Axe’s money-laundering operations.
More than €1m in crypto-assets were seized during one operation.
Despite multiple international arrests, some experts feel not enough is being done to address the root of these crime syndicates in West Africa, BBC reports.
It reported that multiple of the so-called “Jackal” police operations have taken place since 2022.
Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members have been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these transnational raids. This work has enabled Interpol to create a vast intelligence database, which is now shared with officers throughout its 196 member countries.
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Interpol said it had launched the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system which enables the authorities in its 196-member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed.
The mechanism, which enables the authorities in member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed, was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business last month.
Interpol’s Mr Kaya said technology like this would make it harder for criminals to move money across borders with impunity.
“If we can gather this data we can take action,” he said.
“We need to have data and to collate our findings from these countries to help build a picture of their modus operandi,” said Mr Kaya
A major effort is underway to gather and share intelligence on Black Axe and other West African syndicates police around the world.
