• Spanish police, with operational support from Europol and cooperation from German authorities, carried out a coordinated nationwide operation against the transnational criminal syndicate known as Black Axe.
• The operation resulted in 34 arrests across several Spanish provinces: mainly 28 in Seville, plus arrests in Madrid, Málaga and Barcelona.

Who Is Black Axe?

• Black Axe originated in Nigeria in the late 1970s as a university confraternity but evolved into a structured, hierarchical criminal organization operating in many countries.
• The network is involved in a wide range of serious crimes including fraud, money laundering, document falsification, cyber-enabled financial offences, and has alleged links to drug trafficking, human trafficking, prostitution and armed robbery.
• Investigators estimate the group may have defrauded victims of more than €5.9 million in the schemes disrupted by this operation.

Financial Disruptions & Seizures

• During searches, authorities seized €66,403 in cash and froze around €119,352 in bank accounts, undermining part of the network’s financial operations.

Wider Network and Exploitation

• Europol described Black Axe as having tens of thousands of registered members worldwide and also relying on money mules — particularly from vulnerable communities in Spain with high unemployment — to facilitate their crimes.
• The success of the operation highlights the importance of cross-border law enforcement cooperation in tackling sophisticated organized crime.