Black Ax is a shadowy criminal network known for its extreme violence, operating in Africa, Europe and North America.
A 2021 BBC Eye investigation found that the syndicate had become one of the most extensive and dangerous organized crime groups in the world.
Nigeria is its main recruiting ground, and many of its members are university educated and recruited while studying.
What started out as a Nigerian fraternity is now has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies for several years now.
FBI operations against Black Ax were launched in November 2019 and September 2021, resulting in more than 35 people being charged in connection with multimillion-dollar internet fraud.
Since then, several more operations against Black Ax have been carried out in several countries, coordinated by the global police agency Interpol.
Last month Interpol said in its latest operation – which took place between November 2025 and June 2026 – raided seven South African properties linked to a romance and investment scam syndicate.
This led to the arrests of 39 people, the confiscation of money and the blocking of more than 250 bank accounts.
The US Department of Justice announced that federal charges have been filed in 2021 against eight men allegedly associated with Black Ax. Prosecutors said they were part of a group that engaged in widespread Internet fraud, including romance scams and advance payment schemes.
They said members of the group used social networking sites, online dating sites and Internet phone calls to find and talk to victims in the United States, using a series of aliases.
The group also allegedly used the bank accounts of victims and individuals with financial accounts in the United States to transfer money to South Africa. In some cases, they convinced victims to open financial accounts in the United States, which the alleged conspirators would then be allowed to use themselves.
In a victim questionnaire distributed by the FBI in the US state of New Jersey, the agency said members of the group are believed to have used various aliases to extort funds from unsuspecting victims.
The general story they allegedly spun involved an alleged online love interest who was traveling to Cape Town to work on a construction project. The man was telling the victim that he had been robbed and asking for a phone and other electronic devices to be sent to him in South Africa.
Victims were also told the alleged online love interest needed a loan to pay for repairs to a faulty crane at a construction site, pay legal fees for an accident on site or pay foreign taxes to free up a large amount of money owed to them.