South African authorities have arrested 39 people in Johannesburg and seized about R42.5 million during an international operation targeting alleged romance and investment scam syndicates.
The arrests formed part of Interpol’s Operation Jackal IV, which targeted properties linked to a West African criminal network allegedly running scams aimed at retirees in English-speaking countries.
Interpol said authorities also blocked 257 bank accounts during the Johannesburg operation.
Scam network targeted retirees
According to Interpol, the alleged syndicate operated a structured network in which members were assigned different roles, including “conversion” and “retention” agents.
The operation targeted organised crime groups running romance and investment scams.
Authorities said victims were approached through bogus investment opportunities advertised on social media.
Call-centre agents allegedly persuaded victims to make small initial investments that appeared to generate strong returns.
Communication would then continue through platforms including Skype, Messenger, Zoom and WhatsApp as victims were encouraged to invest larger amounts.
Victims were primarily identified in Australia, the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and New Zealand.
International operation targets syndicates
Operation Jackal IV was launched in November 2025 and involves 22 countries across six continents.
Interpol said the operation aims to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize criminal assets and support arrests and prosecutions linked to West African organised crime groups.
Interpol, the Hawks, the South African Revenue Service’s Forensic Investigation team and several banks participated in the South African operation.
Standard Bank and First National Bank were directly involved, while other financial institutions participated through the South African Banking Risk Information Centre.
Previous Johannesburg arrests linked
The latest arrests follow another Operation Jackal intervention in Johannesburg in January 2026.
Authorities arrested six alleged investment scammers and 25 call-centre agents during that operation.
The Hawks said the earlier investigation began in 2022 after receiving statements from 43 victims in Australia.
Authorities alleged the syndicates used professionally designed websites, logos, false testimonials and registered companies to make fraudulent investment schemes appear legitimate.
More than 40 victims allegedly suffered losses running into undisclosed millions of rand.
Investigations into the wider networks remain ongoing.