TL;DR:
- Binance collaborated with Interpol and Afripol in Operation Red Card 2.0, which resulted in 651 arrests and the recovery of $4.3 million.
- The operation, carried out between December 2025 and January 2026, exposed fraud linked to more than $45 million in losses and identified 1,247 victims.
- The World Economic Forum warned about the growing reliance on private actors like Binance to sustain cybersecurity at a global level.
Binance collaborated with Interpol and Afripol in Operation Red Card 2.0, a coordinated initiative involving agencies from 16 African countries that ran from December 8, 2025 to January 30, 2026. The result: 651 arrests, 1,247 victims identified, 2,341 devices seized, 1,442 malicious IP addresses dismantled and the recovery of $4.3 million in cash and assets. Total losses linked to criminal networks exceeded $45 million.
The operation targeted the infrastructure behind high-yield investment schemes, mobile money fraud and predatory loan applications. In Nigeria, authorities dismantled a network that recruited young people to carry out scams through phishing, identity theft and social engineering, operating from a residential property built by the criminal group’s leader.
In Kenya, 27 detainees were linked to schemes that showed victims fake dashboards of purported investments in international companies. In Ivory Coast, 58 arrests were connected to mobile loan fraud targeting vulnerable populations.
Binance and Blockchain Intelligence
Binance’s contribution was both technical and informational. In Nigeria, its analysts used blockchain analysis tools to track the stolen digital assets, identifying transfer networks that converged on specific physical locations, including the residential property that served as headquarters for a phishing network. This collaboration was decisive in recovering the $4.3 million.
Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate, stressed that “these organized criminal groups inflict devastating financial and psychological harm” and urged all victims to come forward to the authorities.
Despite the praise from Interpol, Binance is also dealing with a public dispute with The Wall Street Journal. A WSJ article claimed the company fired employees who detected transfers of up to $1.7 billion to Iranian entities linked to terrorism. CEO Richard Teng rejected the accusations on social media and the company’s legal team sent a formal letter demanding a retraction, arguing that the journalists ignored 19 correction points submitted before publication.
The Gap the Private Sector Is Filling
The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 warned that 37% of NGOs and 23% of public sector organizations lack the resources and capabilities to defend themselves against digital threats. Binance, with a compliance team of 1,500 people representing approximately 25% of its global workforce, processed more than 71,000 requests from law enforcement agencies in 2025 and collaborated in the seizure of $131 million in illicit funds worldwide.
That level of operational capacity contrasts with the structural limitations of the public and civil sectors, a gap that organizations like the Common Good Cyber Fund, backed by G7 leaders, seek to narrow by combining governmental and private resources.
