The INTERPOL payment mechanism that halted black market

The INTERPOL payment mechanism that halted black market

Summary

INTERPOL’s Operation HAECHI VI — led by South Korea and spanning 40 countries — recovered roughly £346.8m of illicit funds linked to a range of cyber-enabled financial crimes, including illegal online gambling. Central to the operation’s success was the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) stop-payment mechanism, which helped freeze nearly 400 cryptocurrency wallets and about 68,000 bank accounts.

Content summary

The operation targeted seven types of crimes: voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud, money laundering tied to illegal online gambling, business email compromise and e-commerce fraud. Authorities reported recovering £270.2m in fiat and a further £76.6m in physical and virtual assets, demonstrating the scale of the black market.

The Philippines featured prominently because investigations involved Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), recently outlawed by President Marcos amid links to illicit activity. INTERPOL and Korean officials stressed the role of international cooperation and the I-GRIP stop-payment tool — launched in 2022 — in disrupting criminal cash flows and enabling recoveries.

Key Points

• Operation HAECHI VI operated across 40 countries and was spearheaded by South Korea.
• Recovered totals: approx. £270.2m (fiat) + £76.6m (physical & virtual assets) = ~£346.8m.
• Nearly 400 cryptocurrency wallets were frozen and around 68,000 bank accounts were targeted to freeze illicit proceeds.
• The operation addressed seven cyber-enabled financial crimes, not just illegal gambling.
• INTERPOL’s I-GRIP stop-payment mechanism (launched 2022) was central to blocking criminal transfers and enabling recoveries.
• The Philippines’ POGOs were a focal point, feeding political and regulatory moves including recent bans and legislative scrutiny.
• INTERPOL emphasised international collaboration as key to sustained disruption of illicit financial networks.

Context and relevance

This report matters to anyone involved in payments, compliance, iGaming or fintech. It shows that coordinated global tools — like the I-GRIP stop-payment mechanism — can materially disrupt money-laundering routes and produce recoveries once considered unlikely.

For regulators and operators, the outcome signals heightened enforcement risk, accelerating regulatory scrutiny in jurisdictions with large online gambling footprints (notably the Philippines). For payments and crypto firms, it underlines the growing capability of law enforcement to interdict flows across fiat and digital asset rails.

Why should I read this?

Quick and blunt: this was a huge international takedown that actually got money back. If you work with payments, compliance, gambling regulation or crypto, it’s worth a read — we’ve skimmed the detail for you, but the I-GRIP story and the POGO angle are the bits that change the game.

Source

Source: https://igamingexpert.com/regions/latin-america/interpol-investigation/