FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau and its partners at the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney's offices have seized more than $17 billion from overseas scam compound fraud centres under Operation Blackout, speaking at a White House roundtable on cybercrime and scams chaired by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, IANS reported. 'Seized it. That means that's money we got back,' Patel said, according to the report.
Patel, the first Indian-American to head the FBI, said the operation had 'destroyed and demolished over 20 compounds' run by criminal syndicates, describing the centres as towns and ecosystems built to fleece American citizens, located in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East, IANS reported. The White House roundtable recording carries the same remarks.
Source: White House roundtable recording — FBI Director Kash Patel remarks on Operation Blackout
'They moved to Africa. We got them there, too,' Patel said, adding that two weeks ago agents were in Ghana and Nigeria, arrested another 300 individuals and seized another $15 million being taken from American senior citizens, according to IANS.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said that in April the FBI and Dubai Police announced the arrests of at least 276 individuals and the dismantlement of at least nine scam centres that targeted Americans, and that prosecutors unsealed charges against their managers and recruiters, IANS reported. President Trump, opening the session, said federal law enforcement had warned more than 10,000 Americans targeted for victimisation and prevented $1.6 billion in losses this year, according to the same report.
For diaspora families in the United States, the crackdown matters because overseas scam call centres routinely target older relatives with impersonation and investment fraud. The roundtable remarks urged the public to report suspicious activity to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. All seizure and arrest totals in this story are the figures stated by officials at the roundtable, as reported by IANS and heard in the roundtable recording.
Source: White House roundtable recording — FBI Director Kash Patel remarks on Operation Blackout
What is solid
- Patel spoke at a White House roundtable chaired by President Trump on Wednesday and described Operation Blackout seizures and compound demolitions — IANS, corroborated by the roundtable recording.
- Blanche cited April FBI–Dubai Police arrests of at least 276 people and nine dismantled centres — IANS.
What is only claimed
- The $17 billion seizure total and the compound and arrest counts are agency claims stated at the roundtable; the reports carried no independent audit of those totals.