INTERPOL recovers over $40 million stolen in a BEC attack

INTERPOL used its Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) to recover roughly $41 million stolen in a business email compromise (BEC) against a Singapore commodity firm that wired $42.3 million to attacker-controlled bank accounts after receiving a spoofed supplier email; Timor-Leste authorities recovered funds and arrested seven suspects. The report highlights the scale of BEC losses (FBI IC3 citing $2.9B in 2023), notes I-GRIP's broader use in Operation First Light and since 2022 (recovering over $500M), and emphasizes the role of money mules and cross-border cooperation in both perpetration and recovery efforts.