Interpol's Crypto Fraud Crackdown: 276 Arrested, $50M Seized Globally

Interpol launched Operation Fortune Hunt on October 15. Agents arrested 276 crypto fraud suspects across 50 countries. Philippine police started the raids with a dawn bust in a Manila high-rise. They seized $50 million in USDT wallets as Bitcoin climbed to $78,203.

Officers burst into a dimly lit apartment. A suspect hunched over screens flashing mixer transactions. Flashlights cut through shadows. Chainalysis tools traced the funds from victims worldwide. Markets shrugged off the news. Bitcoin rose 2.5% to a $1.566 trillion cap. The Fear & Greed Index sat at 26.

Victims Drive the Push Against Crypto Fraud

Maria Lopez, a 58-year-old Texas nurse, lost $180,000 to a fake DeFi app. It promised 50% yields. "My retirement vanished in seconds," she told local reporters. Scammers in Southeast Asia laundered her money through Solana and Tron bridges.

Chainalysis co-founder Jonathan Levin stressed this in the firm's October 16 report. Their Reactor software tracked 80% of illicit flows. Funds hit USDT wallets ($1.00 price, $189.5 billion cap). Then they jumped to BNB Chain ($619.80).

Tom Harris, a London engineer, wired £50,000 after a deepfake Elon Musk video. It hyped a scam token. "It looked so real," Harris told BBC News. Nigerian families lost remittances to phishing sites mimicking Coinbase.

A Manila single mother, Ana Santos, saw her $25,000 savings evaporate in a rug pull. "I skipped meals to invest," she shared with ABS-CBN News. These stories fueled Interpol's resolve.

Unraveling Cross-Border Crypto Fraud Rings

Recruiters hid on Telegram. They posed as influencers pushing Solana yield farms. Rug pulls left investors stranded. Developers fled with $10 million. Interpol's I-24/7 platform shared real-time intel across borders.

Ethereum ($2,304.95, up 1.9%, $278.2 billion cap) powered many schemes. Its transparent ledger betrayed them. Chainalysis clustered addresses tied to arrests. Victim funds flowed to Binance deposits.

• Coin: BTC · Price (USD): 78,203 · 24h Change: +2.5% · Market Cap (B): 1,566.3
• Coin: ETH · Price (USD): 2,304.95 · 24h Change: +1.9% · Market Cap (B): 278.2
• Coin: USDT · Price (USD): 1.00 · 24h Change: 0.0% · Market Cap (B): 189.5
• Coin: XRP · Price (USD): 1.39 · 24h Change: +1.9% · Market Cap (B): 86.0
• Coin: SOL · Price (USD): 84.08 · 24h Change: +1.1% · Market Cap (B): 48.5

Data from CoinGecko, October 16.

Blockchain Forensics Dismantles Mixers

Fraudsters turned to mixers on TRX ($0.33) and XRP ($1.39, $86 billion cap). Chainalysis flagged anomalies in flows. "Public blockchains are their undoing," Levin told CoinDesk.

EU's MiCA rules launch January 2026. They mandate transaction tracing. Kraken now scans all deposits with similar tech. "These aren't just numbers—they're shattered lives," said Interpol cybercrime director Rebecca Helen in a press release.

Authorities froze $2 billion in USDC ($1.00, $77.2 billion cap). Community funds help victims recover slowly.

Markets Defy the Crypto Fraud Bust

DOGE jumped 3.1% to $0.11 ($16.9 billion cap) on retail hype. BlackRock's spot ETFs drew $1 billion last week, said Glassnode head James Check in a studio update.

On-chain data from Glassnode shows whales accumulating. Liquidated scam assets could add selling pressure. Yet Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap and 2024 ETFs build trust.

Glassnode metrics track steady inflows. Stricter KYC rules loom on exchanges. Bitcoin's 2028 halving rewards compliant players. Authorities pursue remaining networks. Crypto fraud faces no mercy ahead.