Massive illegal online gambling crackdown: Interpol coordinates 5,100 arrests in 28 countries

Interpol has busted thousands of illicit football betting websites, scam centers, human trafficking, fraud schemes, and other criminal activities in a massive operation, which led to over 5,100 arrests and the recovery of more than $59 million in unlawful proceeds.

The operation, code-named SOGA X, spanned 28 countries and territories between June and July 2024 during the UEFA 2024 European Football Championships.

The feds correctly predicted the tournament would catalyze a surge in illegal online football gambling, generating betting turnover and lucrative profits for criminals.

SOGA X investigations also led to the shutting down of tens of thousands of illegal websites, the rescue of trafficked workers, and the exposure of money laundering syndicates, Interpol announced.

“Organized crime networks reap huge profits from illegal gambling, which is often intertwined with corruption, human trafficking, and money laundering. The successes of Operation SOGA X would not have been achieved without global information sharing and significant efforts by law enforcement authorities on the ground,” said Stephen Kavanagh, Interpol Executive Director of Police Services.

In the Philippines, the operation dismantled a scam center operating alongside a licensed gambling site. Local authorities, supported by Interpol, rescued more than 650 human trafficking victims, 400 Filipinos, and more than 250 foreign nationals from six different countries among them.

The people were forced into working for legal gambling sites and running illegal cyber scams, such as romance scams and crypto-related frauds.

“Many of the victims had been lured to the location with false promises of employment and were kept there through threats, intimidation, and even passport confiscation,” Interpol said.

Another large bust was a large-scale financial fraud and illegal betting sites scheme in Vietnam and Thailand.

In Vietnam, where online gambling is prohibited for citizens, the feds locked up a sophisticated gambling ring that was generating $800,000 in daily transactions. Meanwhile, in Thailand, police seized assets worth over $9 million after raiding two locations hosting major illegal betting websites.

Another part of the operation took place in Europe. Greek authorities took down an illegal betting ring behind at least seven illegal gambling sites, which also had access to accounts on 60 other illegal websites. The criminals exploited fake and mule user accounts to place bets on sports events. Interpol noted that the ring employed VPNs to bypass internet blocks in Greece.

The criminal group managed 3,000 fake and ‘mule’ accounts on legal gambling websites, which had been created using stolen identity cards or forged documents. Police seized laptops, containing at least 9,000 pictures of fake IDs.

Interpol suspects that criminals tried to break down large sums of money into smaller, less detectable chunks by dispersing profits across multiple accounts. This method of money laundering helps avoid detection.

Illegal online gambling is closely linked to other crimes and match-fixing as criminals try to manipulate the outcomes of sports events to guarantee profits, Interpol noted.