Five men accused of leading a Black Axe cybercrime cell—Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Osariemen Clement, Collins Otughwor, and Musa Mudashiru—have been extradited from South Africa to the US to face wire fraud and money laundering charges. Prosecutors say the group ran romance scams and advance-fee schemes targeting American victims from Cape Town between 2011 and 2021, using fake identities, dating sites, and VoIP numbers, and blackmailing victims with threats to leak intimate photos when they resisted paying.
Interpol coordinated a multinational law enforcement effort, codenamed Jackal IV, targeting the infrastructure that enables crime-as-a-service operations across West Africa. The operation specifically aimed at organizations linked to groups like Black Axe, which have been tied to fraud, cybercrime, and other illicit activities spanning multiple countries.
Interpol conducted an eight-month operation, dubbed Jackal IV, from November 2025 to June 2026 targeting the global support networks enabling West African cybercrime syndicates like Black Axe. The effort spanned 22 countries across six continents, resulting in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to romance scams, crypto fraud, business email compromise, and violent crimes. In Argentina alone, authorities uncovered a crime-as-a-service network supplying domains and money laundering to these gangs, identifying about 200 people and arresting 17.
Police from 22 countries collaborated to identify 263 suspects and arrest 58 people connected to West African cybercrime syndicates, including the Black Axe organization known for romance scams, crypto fraud and business email compromise schemes. Argentina, South Africa, Romania and Italy each contributed arrests and seizures, including $2.67 million confiscated from a group targeting retirees, while investigators also uncovered a Crime-as-a-Service network supplying domains and money-laundering support to organized crime groups.
GoKawiil