- Operation HAECHI VI targeted cyber-enabled financial crimes like scams and phishing, recovering $439M across 40 countries.
- INTERPOL coordinated the effort, recovering $439M in assets and freezing over 68,000 accounts linked to fraud.
- Operation details miss total arrests; questions remain on victim fund returns and comparison to prior HAECHI operations.
Law enforcement agencies from 40 countries recovered $439 million in assets and blocked over 68,000 bank accounts as part of INTERPOL’s Operation HAECHI VI. The operation, which ran from April to August 2025, targeted criminal groups behind voice phishing, romance scams, and other online financial crimes.
According to an INTERPOL announcement, the recovered assets included $342 million in fiat currencies and $97 million in other physical and virtual assets. The joint effort focused on seven types of cyber-enabled financial crimes, from investment fraud to money laundering.
As part of the crackdown, authorities also froze 400 cryptocurrency wallets, which held an estimated $16 million. Theos Badege, acting head of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, commented on the results. “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,” he stated.
Global Impact and Unanswered Questions
The operation saw significant results across several member countries. The Korean National Police Agency, for example, recovered KRW 6.6 billion for a victimized steel company. In another major success, the Royal Thai Police seized $6.6 million, marking their largest single-case recovery. Meanwhile, authorities in Portugal arrested 45 suspects connected to the theft of EUR 228,000 from 531 victims.
Lee Jun Hyeong, Head of Korea’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau, highlighted the importance of international cooperation in combating these crimes.
However, the announcement did not specify the total number of arrests made globally or provide a country-by-country breakdown of all recovered funds. The report also did not detail the methods used to identify and freeze the 400 cryptocurrency wallets, a key area of interest as crypto-related crime evolves.
While the operation is a clear win for victims, it remains unclear how this recovery compares to previous HAECHI operations. Furthermore, details on what percentage of the seized funds will be returned to victims versus retained as evidence have not been disclosed.
