Fraud and Shadow Storm Monitoring Report
As of October 22, 2026, 8:41 AM | 1 Important New Update
We have confirmed important new information regarding the crackdown on international cryptocurrency investment fraud.
Overseas
【Most Important】 US FBI Announces Crackdown and Dismantling of 20 Fraud Hubs Worldwide
Announcement: October 21, 2026 | USA
On October 21, US President Donald Trump announced at the White House the results of measures against cryptocurrency investment fraud by overseas criminal organizations.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who was in attendance, explained that they had raided and dismantled 20 fraud hubs around the world.
The main points of the announcement are as follows:
The $1.6 billion figure is an estimate of prevented losses and does not represent the amount seized or confiscated from criminal organizations, nor the amount returned to victims.
Furthermore, the locations of the 20 hubs, the dates of the raids, the number of arrests, and the total amount of seized cryptocurrency have not been clarified in the reports confirmed so far. Reuters
Source: Reuters – Detailed report from October 21
Significance of this event
This announcement demonstrates that the US is advancing investigations and crackdowns on overseas fraud hubs.
However, it remains unconfirmed whether the 20 locations include hubs operated by Cambodian, Myanmar, or Chinese criminal organizations.
A direct connection to SNS-type investment fraud targeting Japan has also not been confirmed.
Moving forward, the locations of the raided hubs, the identification of criminal organization leaders and money managers, information on seized wallets, and progress in asset confiscation and return will be critical.
Japan
We have checked information from October 21 onwards, but no important new announcements regarding large-scale crackdowns, international joint investigations, freezing/confiscation of cryptocurrency, or returns to Japanese victims that fall under our priority monitoring items have been confirmed.
INTERPOL / Task Force Shadow Storm
Regarding INTERPOL’s Task Force Shadow Storm, no new official results have been confirmed.
In particular, no new confirmation has been obtained regarding the participation and information sharing by the Japanese police, the international sharing of bank account and cryptocurrency wallet information, the connection from TxIDs to overseas exchange KYC information, or the return of assets to Japanese victims.
The relationship between this FBI announcement and Shadow Storm remains unconfirmed.
Evaluation of this report
Importance: Very High (Dismantling of international scam hubs)
The highlight of this report is the U.S. announcement of the raid and dismantling of 20 scam hubs around the world.
On the other hand, no concrete results regarding the seizure and confiscation of criminal proceeds or their return to Japanese victims can be confirmed from this announcement.
We will continue to prioritize progress that leads to the identification of high-ranking members of criminal organizations, the clarification of money laundering routes, the freezing and confiscation of cryptocurrency, and actual recovery of damages.
